Paragraph History 



OF THE 



UNITED STATES 



THE DISCOVERY OF THE CONTINENT TO 
THE PRESENT TIME. 



WITH BRIEF NOTES ON CONTEMPORANEOUS 
EVENTS. 



CHRONOLOGICALLY ARRANGED. 



By EDWARD ABBOTT. 



BOSTON: 

ROBERTS BROTHERS. 

1875. 



Copyright, 1875, CjM^-mTw 
By Edward Abbott. 




APR 18T929 

Army and Nft'P'r ^v b- 
AVashingtoD 



Camhridge : 
Press of John Wilson and Son. 



A PREFATORY NOTE. 



This little book is intended for the use of those 
Americans who, at this centennial period, wish to 
refresh their memories as to some main facts in 
their country's history, and have only a few mo- 
ments to do it in. The essential service of 
larger and fuller works, it does not pretend to 
render. Nor does it profess to name every event, 
or to mention every date, which belongs to the 
national growth; but only a few that are chief. 
It simply presents a skeleton of American history, 
with perhaps some bones missing at that ; all the 
flesh for which must be found by other reading. 

The brief notes in contemporaneous history 
which lie along the margin of the text will, it is 
hoped, be serviceable to the reader in furnishing 
something of a background. It will be noticed 
that the names of eminent persons are accom- 
panied by two dates. The first is that of their 
birth ; the second that of their death ; and the 
insertion into the text is made at the point corre- 



11 PREFATORY NOTE. 

spending with the latter, because it is the later 
portion of the lives of such which commonly 
touches most closely the period to which they 
belong. 

The author has not thought it needful to en- 
cumber with authorities the pages of a manual 
whose main merit, if any, must be its compact- 
ness. The reader must take his word for it that 
its statements have been drawn from trustworthy 
sources, and that all pains have been taken to 
make them accurate. That they will be found ab- 
solutely accurate, in every case, is of course more 
than is to be expected. But if these chronologi- 
cal paragraphs in the history of our country 
should have the effect of leading the reader on 
to a thorough study of the events to which they 
relate, under the guidance of more competent 
teachers, the aim of the book will have been 
accomplished. 

E. A. 

Cambridge, Mass., 

April lo, 1875. 



CONTENTS, 



Page 

I. Aboriginal Period 5 

II. Period of Discovery. 860-1534 .... 6 

III. Period of Settlement. 1534-1640 ... 11 

IV. Period of Colonial Growth. 1640-1775 . 23 
V. Period of the Revolution. 1775-1783 . 38 

VI. Period of National Growth. 1783-1817 . 43 

VII. Period of Slavery Agitation. 1817-1861 52 

VIII. Period of the Rebellion. 1861-1065 . . 69 

IX. The New Era 76 

X. Appendix 81 

XI. Index Z-j 



I. 

ABORIGINAL PERIOD. 

The North American Indians. The American con- 
tinent, long before its discovery by the Europeans, was 
inhabited by the race of red-men known as Indians, who, 
organized into various families and tribes, bearing various 
names, and displaying somewhat different characteristics 
and habits, extended from what is now known as Labrador, 
in the extreme North-east, southward to the Gulf of Mexico, 
all about the Great Lakes, far into the interior, and along 
the Pacific coast ; throughout, in fact, pretty much the 
entire country. The chief families of these Indians were 
the Esquimaux, the Algonquins, the Iroquois, the Creeks, 
and the Dakotas ; each of these families being divided 
into an almost infinite number of tribes, of which some of 
the more prominent and familiar names are Ottawas, Nar- 
ragansetts, Mohegans, Powhatans, Hurons, Mohawks, and 
Seminoles. The origin of the North American Indians is 
wrapped in mystery, though their traditions point to the 
North-west as the quarter whence the current of their emi- 
gration proceeded ; which fact, with other circumstances, 
suggests an Asiatic origin. 

The Mound Builders. The Indians were not, how- 
ever the aboriginal inhabitants of North America. There 
is evidence that they were preceded by another and superior 
race, which, for want of a better name, and with reference 
to the monuments left by it, is commonly called the Mound 



6 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

Builders. The region 'of the Great Lakes, the valley of 
the Mississippi, and the vicinity of the Gulf of Mexico, 
abound with a variety of earth-works, of great age and im- 
pressive appearance, all ascribed to this race now long 
extinct. These works consist of walls, enclosures, em- 
bankments, mounds of every conceivable shape, ditches, 
reservoirs, and altar-like erections in geometrical forms ; 
their antiquity being thought to range from 1500 to 2000 
years. Besides such of these works as were intended for 
purposes of worship, there are others which were places of 
burial, and others still whose original design was as mani- 
festly defence. Some of the more remarkable of these 
works are found in Ohio, near Newark and Chilicothe ; 
others in Wisconsin and Iowa. They demonstrate the exist- 
ence in this country, before the Indian occupation, of a 
numerous, intelligent, powerful, and to some extent civil- 
ized race ; but whence it came and whither it disappeared, 
are, for the present at least, matters of pure conjecture. 



II. 

PERIOD OF DISCOVERY. 

860-1534. 

860. The Norwegians and Iceland. Columbus was 

not the pioneer in the enterprise of American discovery. 

About this year Iceland, which, though politically a part of 

862. Russian ^^^ Eastern hemisphere, belongs geo- 

empire founded graphically to the Western, was dis- 

^byRtiricthe covered by the Norwegians. According 

to tradition Iceland had been discovered 



OP THE UNITED STATES. / 

even before this by Irish adventurers. It was not perma- 
nently settled, however, until 874, when 871-900. Alfred 
two Norwegians founded Reykjavik, the Great, King 
Half a century later Iceland became a of ^^S^and. 
Republic. 

983. Greenland was the first portion of what is really 
the American continent to be reached by Europeans. Its 
eastern coast was seen by the Norwegians almost simultane- 
ously with the discovery of Iceland, but in this and following 
years the land was entered and explored by Norwegians, 
and within two centuries became the jggg^ Battle of 
abode of a considerable population. The Hast'mgs. Wil- 
probabilities are that Greenland was ^^'^''^ theConque- 
far less desolate and much more habi- dy^ ascends the 
table then than now. English throne. 

1000-1200. The Northmen and New England. 
There are traditions to the effect that 1079-1142. Abe- 
during the nth, 12th, and T3th centuries ^'^''^• 

the Northmen explored the New Eng- 1096-1272. The 

^ ° Crusades. 

land coast. But the extent of their dis- ii6o-i-'27 Gen^ 
coveries, and the precise localities which ghis Khan, 

they visited, cannot be determined with 1 297-1 299. Scot- 

. . ^ land in arms 

any certamty. ^^^^-^^^ En^la^id, 

1492. First Voyage of Columbus, led by Wallace 

On the 3d of August, Christopher Co- ""'f ^''"''^ 

lumbus, a native of Genoa, an educated oft/ie Swiss Cafi- 

mariner and an experienced navigator, to7is. 

convinced of the existence of a western 1 265-1321. 

hemisphere, and duly empowered by ^^ _ \r, 

their Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella, Wickliffe.' 

King and Queen of Spain, set sail from 1328-1400. 

Palos on a voyage of discovery, being of ^■^^^'^<^'^''- 

unknown age, but probably between fifty ])V'Ar^.^^' -^^^^ 



8 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

i'^7o-i44i. John ^"*^ sixty. The expedition consisted of 
Va7i Eyck, to 120 men, all told, divided between three 
whom is aitribiit- ^ ^j g ^ j^j • ^^ y ^ 

ed the invention ^ ' ' ' 

of oil-painting. the Nina. They touched at the Canary 

1450. Invention Islands, and had thence a prosperous 

of printing. passage across the unknown sea. After 

meeting with a variety of experiences, a light in the of- 
fing was first seen by Columbus himself on the even- 
ing of October 11, and the next day land was hailed by 
one of the sailors. It proved to be an island {one of 
the Bahamas), to which, on landing, Columbus gave the 
name of San Salvador. After discovering several other 
islands in the vicinity, one of which he called Hispaniola, 
or Little Spain (now Hayti), Columbus set sail (January, 
1493) for home, leaving about one-fourth of his men as a 
colony in Hispaniola. In years following he made several 
other voyages to the New World. 

1497. John Cabot. In May, John Cabot of uncertain 
nativity, first known as a Venetian, but afterwards resident 
in England, having obtained a charter from Henry VII., 
set sail from Bristol, with his son Sebastian, in a single 
ship, for the New World. Late in June he reached what 
IB now known as Labrador, and is supposed to have sailed 
thence southward along the coast for nearly 1000 miles. 
He made a landing, planted the flags of England and 
Venice on the soil, and returned to England in August. 

1497. Amerigo Vespucci. In this same year proba- 
bly Amerigo Vespucci, otherwise known as Americus Ves- 
pucius, a native of Florence, joined an expedition from 
Spain to the New World, which penetrated to the main- 
land, coasted along the northern part of South America, 
and returned the following year to Spain (1499-1500 are 
preferred by some as the dates of this voyage). Vespucci 



OF THE UNITED STATES. g 

afterward made other voyages to the same quarter, and in 
1507 a geographer of Freiburg, Germany, who supposed 
him to have been the true discoverer of the continent, 
is said to have given it his name, Americi Terra, or Land 
of Americus; whence America.* For this appellation 
[assuming the truth of the tradition] Amerigo does not 
seem to have been in any wise responsible. He was a 
friend of Columbus. 

1500. Gaspar Cortereal, a Portuguese, crossed the 
ocean this year at the head of an expedition, and explored 
the more northern shores of North America, giving the 

name Labrador (laborer) to the country „ 

^ ' -' 1500. Savana- 

now thereby known. From a subse- rola and Mac- 
quent voyage to the same regions he chiavdli at 
never returned. 

1502. Fourth Voyage of Columbus. Columbus 
set sail from Cadiz on his fourth and last voyage to the 
New World, having it for his special object to discover a 
short passage to the East Indies; and, returning in 1504, 
soon after died. 

1512. Ponce de Leon, who had accompanied Colum- 
bus on his second voyage, and been made Governor of the 
island of Porto Rico, sailed thence, March 3d, in search 
of land said to contain a fountain capable of restoring and 
perpetuating youth and beauty. Early in April he sighted 
the mainland ; on the 8th disembarked near the site of the 
present city of St. Augustine ; took possession of the 
country in the name of the King of Spain ; and because of 
its luxuriant vegetation named it Florida. In 15 13, De 
Leon was appointed Governor of Florida, and, some years 



* This theory as to the origin of the name America has been disput- 
ed by some recent writers, who hold that the word is native to the soil. 



10 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

later, in attempting to conquer his province from the In- 
dians, was wounded, and died in Cuba. 

1513. Vasco Nunez de Balboa, a Spanish ad- 
venturer who- had fled to Hispaniola for refuge from his 
creditors, being a member of an expedition engaged in the 
1 517. Luther^ s exploration of the Isthmus of Darien, 
opposition to discovered from one of its mountains 
gences opens the *^^ Pacific Ocean. This was on the 
Reformation. 26th of September. He planted a cross 
on the spot, and took possession of the territory, as usual, 
in the name of Spain. 

1519. Hernando Cortes, a native of Spain, but for 

several years a resident of Hispaniola, landed in Mexico in 

March, in command of an expedition for the conquest of that 

country. After a prolonged campaign, marked by many 

J. battles and varying fortunes, he finally 

9iardo da Vinci, captured the City of Mexico and com- 

1483-1520. Ra- pleted the subjugation of the people. His 

phaeL character and policy were such, however, 

1519-1521- i'lrst g^g ^Q surround him with enemies, and 
voyage round ' 

the world, made though he was made Governor of Mex- 
by Magellan^ a j^o, his administration was brief and far 
Portuguese nav- , r ■, t ^ 

i^ator. from prosperous or peaceful. In 1530 

1^21,. Gustavus ^^ explored parts of California, and of 
Vasa accepts the the gulf since called by the same name, 
^Sweden"^^"^ and, returning to Spain, died in 1547 in 

comparative obscurity. 
1524. Verrazzani, sent out by France, coasted from 

North Carolina northward as far as the present harbors of 
1 471-15 28. New York and Newport, returning with 

Albert Durer. glowing accounts of the wonders and 

beauties of the New World. 
1531-1533. Fizarro's Conquest of Peru. Fran- 



OF THE UNITED STATES, II 

CISCO Pizarro, the conqueror of Peru, was a Spanish ad- 
venturer, who toward the close of the 

fifteenth, or early in the sixteenth, cen- IJf^aJwTn^t 

tury, came over to the New World in motingtheRc- 

search of his fortunes, and joined Balboa M^^^^on in 

. , . ,. . . ^ , 4 . France. 

m his expeditions in Central America. 

Afterwards, in company with Diego de Almagro, he ex- 
plored the coast of New Granada. Learning of the riches 
of Peru, he returned to Spain to obtain authority and 
means for its subjugation, and in i53orecrossedthe Atlantic 
for that purpose at the head of a small force, accompanied 
by four of his brothers. In 1531 he advanced upon Peru 
by way of Panama, routed the opposing armies, entered 
the capital, Cuzco, and founded the city of Lima. The 
military government which he set up over the vanquished 
empire was a severe and cruel one, and he finally died by 
assassins led by young Almagro, whose father had been 
put to death in consequence of a quarrel with Pizavro. 
Pizarro was an avaricious, heartless, and ignorant man, but 
a bold and skilful soldier. 



III. 
PERIOD OF SETTLEMENT. 

I 534-1640. 

1534. Cartier in Canada. In April, Jacques Car- 
tier sailed at the head of the first of four i^^q. Henry 
French expeditions, the total result of VHl. of Eng- 
which was the pretty thorough explora- S/I^X" 
tion of the waters about the mouth of Pojf>e. 



1 2 PARA GRAPH HIS TORY 

1540. Ignatius the St. Lawrence, and of that river it- 
^Jl^rd{Tofthe ^^\f' ^"^ t^^ commencement of the col- 
Jesuits. onization of Canada. 

1541. De Soto and the Mississippi. Fernando De 
Soto was a Spanish adventurer, who, having made a pre- 
vious expedition to Central America, and, later, accompa- 
nied Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, set sail from Spain 
in April, 1538, at the head of an expedition bent on the 
conquest of Florida. He reached what is now Tampa 
Bay in May, 1539, and began a march into the interior, 
which, after many hardships and adventures, brought him 
to the Mississippi in the summer of 1541. After a detour 
still further to the west, in attempting to descend the great 

• 1555. Persecu- river he had discovered, he died by fe- 
tion of English ver. To conceal the fact of his death, 
^RidleTand Lat- J^i^ followers sunk his body at midnight 
imer burned to in the middle of the stream. Slowly 
death. ^^^ wAxXx much suffering, the latter, 

greatly reduced in numbers, then made their escape from 

the wilderness, by way of Mexico. 
1562-1564. Coligny and the Huguenots. Co- 
15^8. Queen lig'^^Y* the noble and heroic leader of the 
Elizabeth persecuted Protestants of France, who 

lisf/throne. "^' afterwards perished in the Massacre of 
11564. Death of ^t. Bartholomew, sought to open an 
John Calvin and asylum in Florida for his suffering fol- 

Mi!t:fik!& ^o^"^- -."<» -"-"y ="<^«'=ded through 

/>eare arid Ga- agents in planting colonies there. 

^^^^<'- Through the intokrance of the Span- 

iards, the effort proved finally a failure. In September, 
1564, Melendez, who was especially charged with the duty 
of driving back the Huguenot exiles, founded the present 
city of St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United States. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 3 

1567. Dominique De Gourgues, born in Gascony, 
France, headed an expedition this year 1^57. Mary 
to avenge the cruelties inflicted by the Queen of Scots 
Spaniards on his countrymen in Florida, 'sTthwdl^Tnd is 
and did so by surprising and massacring dethroned and 
two Spanish garrisons on the St. John's imprisoned. 
River. Melendez had placed over his ^,'^5-1572. Johtt 
victims some such inscription as, "Not ^ The Mas- 

as to Frenchmen, but as to heretics." sacre of St. Bar- 
Gourgues placed over his victims the le- tJiolomew's Day, 
, , -KT r. -11 and other perse- 

gend "Not as to Spaniards, but as to cutioiis of French 

traitors, robbers, and murderers." Protestants. 

1576-1578. Frobisher's Arctic Expeditions. Dur- 
ing these years. Sir Martin Frobisher, Englishman, con- 
ducted three expeditions in search of a north-west passage, 
going by way of Labrador and Greenland, and discovering 
the entrances to Hudson's Bay. Frobisher's Strait bears 
his name. 

1583. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, half-brother to Sir 
Walter Raleigh, and an English soldier of good education, 
founded a colony in Newfoundland, under a charter from 
Queen Elizabeth. The colony was short-lived, however, 
and the vessel which was bearing him and his company 
home again was lost at sea with all on board. 

1584. Cape Breton was discovered by the English. 

1585. Sir Walter Raleigh and Virginia. Sir Wal- 
ter Raleigh, an accomplished courtier of the reign of Queen 
Elizabeth, obtained from her in 1584 a grant of the region 
which now comprises the State of Virginia, and in the year 
following sent out an expedition to take possession of it. 
The expedition, commanded by Sir Richard Grenville, 
landed at Roanoke Island in midsummer ; but its stay was 
of short duration. Several subsequent attempts were made 



14 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

by Raleigh to effect the permanent settlement of his do- 
main ; but a waste of energies in profitless search for gold 
and silver, consequent scarcity of food, hostilities of the 
Indians, and other difficulties, combined to offer a for- 
midable interference, and the enterprise was finally aban- 
doned. — An incident of this attempt at settlement was the 
birth, at Roanoke, in August, 1587, of the first child of 
English parents in the New World. This was Virginia 
Dare, grand-daughter to John White, the governor of one 
of the colonies sent out by Sir Walter Raleigh, and daugh- 
ter to one of his assistants, who had married Governor 
White's daughter. 
1585-1587. Davis's Arctic Expeditions. John 
1-87. Mary Davis, Englishman, followed Frobisher 
Queen of Scots with three voyages in search of the 
beJieadedtn north-west passage ; in the course of 

Castle, (^ter a which he discovered and explored the 
captivity of near- strait which now bears his name, and 

J^l ^/ ' coasted along Greenland as far north as 
1588. T/ie o / 

Spanish Arma- ^at. 72 12. 

da defeated iji the English Channel, by Sir Francis Drake. 
1592. The French in Nova Scotia. The Marquis 
De la Roche, a French nobleman, sailed at the head of a 
j-,-_j.„Q £^_ colony, mostly composed of pardoned 
mund Spenser, convicts from the prisons of Paris. This 
1598. Religious colony he planted on Sable Island, which 

fo%^enTpri- ^^^^ "^^^^^ ^°° ^^^^ S.E. from the ex- 
esiants by the treme eastern point of Nova Scotia. De 
Edia of Nantes. \^ Roche, returning to France, soon died, 
his colony was neglected, and after a few years its few re- 
maining members found passage home. 

1602. Gosnold and Cape Cod. Bartholomew Gos- 
nold, Englishman, who had served under Sir Walter Ra- 



OF THE UNITED STATES, 1 5 

leigh in the attempt to colonize Virginia, sailed from Fal- 
mouth, England, at the head of a small colony. He made 
a direct voyage across the Atlantic, instead of by the usual 
route of the Canaries and the West Indies, and made the 
Massachusetts coast not far from Nahant. He first landed 
on the singular promontory which he named Cape Cod, 
and, circumnavigating that, he successively discovered, 
landed upon, and named several islands in the vicinity of 
Buzzard's Bay, one of which was Martha's Vineyard. Va- 
rious difficulties and forebodings led to the abandonment 
of the first purpose of the colonists to effect a settlement 
in this region, and they presently returned to England. 

1603. Cliamplain in Canada. Samuel de Cham- 
plain was a Frenchman, who came of a seafaring family, 

and had served in both the army and the - „ , . 

/ 1003. England 

navy of his country. In May of this year and Scotland 

he sailed in command of an expedition em- united^ under 

powered by Henry IV. to found a colony i^ames VI. of 

in North America. His first anchorage Scofla}td'\, son of 

was on the St. Lawrence, at the mouth ^"^7 ^^^^^ ^/ 

Scots. 
of the Saguenay, and his first task the ' 

exploration of the former river. In the course of several 
expeditions which he made to the New World, he ex- 
plored the shores of what are now known as the Eastern 
Provinces ; followed the coast southward as far as Cape 
Cod, keeping always a careful record of his observations ; 
familiarized himself closely with the St. Lawrence ; en- 
tered and named for himself Lake Champlain ; had vari- 
ous and severe encounters with the In- jg^- Discovery 
dians ; and was rewarded with the final of the Gunpow- 
satisfaction of witnessing a permanent der Plot for the 

. r 1 /^ 1 , plowing tip of the 

settlement of the Canadas. Added to English House 
Champlain's abilities as an explorer and ^/ ParliamenU 



1 6 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

organizer, was a strong religious sentiment and a hearty 
zeal in behalf of the missionary efforts of the Jesuits. 

1607. English Settlements in Maine and Virginia. 
In 1606 King James I. of England chartered the Plymouth 
1607-1611. Com- Company, of "knights, gentlemen, and 
fletion of that merchants," chiefly from the west of 
version of the England, to take possession of that part 
Biolc now geit- r -nt 1 « • ■• • •■ 

erally in use : ^i JN orth America lymg between the 

known as ''King 34th and the 38th degrees of latitude ; and 
Itony' ^^''' ^^^° *^^^ London Company, of "no- 
blemen, gentlemen, and merchants," 
mostly of London, to take similar possession of the terri- 
tory between the 41st and 45th degrees ; the intermediate 
portion to be open, under certain limitations, to both. The 
"Plymouth Company" planted a colony the following year 
at the mouth of the Kennebec, at a point now included 
in the town of Phippsburg ; but, by reason of the hard- 
ships they encountered, the settlers were speedily forced 
to abandon the ground and return to England. The " Lon- 
don Company " met with better success. An expedition, 
composed'of about 100 men, and commanded by Christo- 
pher Newport, was despatched late in 1606. Early in 1607 
it entered Chesapeake Bayj ascended the James River, and 
1560-1609. Ar- selected a place for a settlement, which 
minius. -^yas called Jamestown, like the river, in 

honor of the King. Gosnold, and the famous Captain 
John Smith, were prominent members of this expedition, 
which was the means of effecting the first permanent set- 
tlement of the English in the New World. 

1609. The Pilgrims. In this year we find at Leyden 
a company of English Congregationalists, who had made 
their escape from the North of England from religious 
persecution. There were several hundred of them. They 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 1/ 

constituted really a church, having John Robinson as pas- 
tor and William Brewster as elder. In their exile, they 
easily supported themselves by divers trades, and led godly 
and peaceable lives which won the admiration of the 
Dutch. After a residence in Holland of about ten years, 
the church determined to divide in two ; one company, 
consisting of about one-third of the entire number, to pro- 
ceed to America with the purpose of there founding a 
Christian commonwealth. On the 21st of July, 1620, the 
band of emigrants, led by William Brewster, sailed for 
England, thence to take their final departure for their new 
home across the sea. Such was the origin of the Pilgrims, 
who afterwards landed where is now Plymouth, Mass., 
and were largely instrumental in founding New England 
life and character. This party is carefully to be distin- 
guished from the " Plymouth Company," named in the pre- 
ceding paragraph. 

1607-1610. Hudson's Voyages. During these four 
years Henry Hudson, sailing successively in the employ 
of English and Dutch merchants, made several voyages to 
North America, in the course of which g tt 

he explored the coast as far south as IV. of France 
Chesapeake Bay, discovered and as- assassinated by 

, , , . , . , , . , Ravulac. 

cended the river which has since borne 

his name, and entered Hudson's Bay in search of a north- 
west passage. Forced to return by the giving out of his 
stores, his crew mutinied, and he and a faithful few were 
abandoned in an open boat. The particulars of their fate 
were never determined. 

1610. The Dutch and New York. The settle- 
ment of New York originated with the discovery and 
exploration of the Hudson River by Hudson, and dates 
from the arrival of a trading expedition sent out to that 
2 



1 8 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

region by the Dutch East India Company. This was about 
1610. Rude settlements followed on Manhattan Island, 
the site of the present city of New York, and at or near 
the site of Albany. New Netherlands was the name first 
given to the country ; and the infant settlement on Man- 
hattan Island was called New Amsterdam. The date of 
actual colonization has been commonly fixed as 1623, in 
which year a company of well-equipped settlers arrived on 
the ground. Some of these settlers established themselves 
across the river in New Jersey. In this same year, 1623, 
the first white child was born in the colony, named Sarah 
Rapelje. Two or three years later Brooklyn^ was founded. 
During all this time the Dutch at the mouth of the Hud- 
son were little more than a company of traders. 

1612-1616. Baffin's Voyages. William Baffin, 
Englishman, made several voyages in search of the north- 
west passage, in the course of which he discovered and 
explored the arctic bay now known by his name. 

1613. Pocahontas was an Indian girl, daughter of 
Powhatan, Indian chief of Virginia. Tradition attributes 
to her many friendly and heroic services in behalf of the 
English settlers, Captain John Smith especially. In April, 
1613, at Jamestown, she was married to an Englishman, 
John Rolfe by name, and after a few years visited England, 
where she suddenly died on the eve of embarking on her 
return. 

1614. Captain John Smith, who had played a very 
1564-1616. Wil- prominent part in the settlement of Vir- 
lia7n Shakspears. ginia, and had made extensive explora- 

1618-1648 77«>- ^ions of the Chesapeake and along the 
iy Years' War, , , . ,. . , . 

between the Prot- coast, prosecuted his discoveries this 
estants and Ro- year along the coast of New England, 
"oermatif" '^ ^^^^ ^^^ Penobscot to Cape Cod, visited 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 1 9 

the Isles of Shoals, and returned to England with a map 
of the country. 

1620. The Pilgrims and Plymouth. On the i6th 
of September the band of English fugitives, who had 
crossed to England from Holland on their way to America, 
set sail for their home in the wilderness over the sea. Of 
their two vessels, one, the Speedwell, was obliged to put 
back because unseaworthy. The other, the Mayflower, 
with a company of about 100 persons, kept on. The Hud- 
son River was the point aimed at, but Cape Cod was 
struck instead. The voyage was long and trying. For 
nearly a month they reconnoitred the shores seeking a 
place to land; and finally, on the 21st of December, dis- 
embarked where the town of Plymouth now stands. Hav- 
ing no charter, they signed a compact in the cabin of the 
Mayflower before landing, binding themselves into " a civil 
body politic." John Carver was chosen governor, and 
Miles Standish military commander. Upon reaching the 
shore, they at once set to work to build themselves cabins, 
a storehouse, and some suitable defences, and thus to 
make themselves comfortable and secure for the winter. 

1620. The First Slaves. The year of the landing 
of the Pilgrims at Plymouth was also the year of the land- 
ing of the first slaves upon what is now territory of the 
United States. These were brought by a Dutch vessel to 
Jamestown, and there offered for sale. They were twenty 
in number. The system thus introduced sooi\ extended 
into other colonies, though some of them protested against 
the trade. 

1623. Sir F. Gorges and Laconia. Sir Ferdi- 
nand Gorges and John Mason were both members of the 
"Plymouth Company." (Seep. 16.) Gorges had already 



20 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

engaged in the unsuccessful attempt to colonize Maine. 
In 1622, he and Mason obtained from the Company a 
grant of a tract lying partly in each of the present States 
of Maine and New Hampshire. To this they gave the 
name Laconia, and the following year sent out parties to 
settle it. The present city of Dover marks the site of 

1 561-1626. one of those settlements. Shortly af- 

Francis Bacon, terwards a certain part of this tract was 
assigned to Mason alone, and then received the name of 
New Hampshire. 

1628-1630. Boston and Massachusetts Bay. 
In 1628 a colony, chartered by the " Plymouth Company" 
(see p. 16), headed by John Endicott, entered Salem Har- 
bor, and effected a settlement. The following year a re- 
enforcement arrived, and Charlestown was settled. The 
next year, 1630, still larger accessions were received, all 
of excellent people, among them John Winthrop. This 
same year Boston was founded, as also Roxbury, Dorches- 
ter, Watertown, Cambridge (under the name of Newtown), 
and some other towns in the vicinity. The Massachusetts 
•"Bay colonists, like their brethren at Plymouth, were people 
of strong religious sentiments and elevated character, who 
likewise had left England because of oppression for 
opinion's sake ; but there were some important differ- 
ences of temper between them, and though they combined 
to lay the foundations of New England they should be 
carefully distinguished from each other. The Massachu- 
setts Bay colonists alone are properly called "Puritans,'' 
the Plymouth colonists "Pilgrims." For many years, 
until 1692, the two colonies remained distinct from each 
other. 

1631. The first vessel built on the Massachusetts 
shore was launched July 4. She was named the " Blessing 
of the Bay." 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 2 J 

1631. Connecticut. The English Lords Say-and- 
Seal, Brooke, and their associates, re- 1632. Baiile of 
ceived a patent from the Earl of War- Lutzen. Death 

• 1 i ^xi /^ ,' ^ . ^ • ^ of GustaVltS 

Wick, to settle Connecticut ; to which yi/^QU/uis the 
territory, however, the Dutch also laid great Protestant 
Q\2Jixty ^''^^'' °f Germany. 

1634. Maryland. The settlement of Maryland was 
due primarily to George Calvert, Englishman, first Lord 
Baltimore, and a Roman Catholic, who, having in 1625 
made an unsuccessful attempt to colonize Newfoundland, 
obtained from King James a grant of the territory now 
forming the States of Maryland and Delaware. Dying 
before the papers were actually executed, the charter was 
transferred to his second son, Cecil, who gave up the 
management of the projected colony to his elder brother, 
Leonard. Leonard Calvert sailed in November, 1633, 
with a company of about 2C0 persons, and, in March fol- 
lowing, reached the Chesapeake, and on one of its estu- 
aries founded the town of St. Mary's, of which, however, 
scarcely a trace nov/ remains. Considerable difficulty was 
experienced with a previous trading settler of the region, 
William Clayborne, but he was finally dispossessed of 
his claim. A legislative assembly was convened at St. 
Mary's, in 1635, and soon after the Roman Catholic 
religion was made the religion of the State, but with 
entire toleration towards Christians of other beliefs. Re- 
ligious freedom was a corner-stone of this colony from 
the first. 

1635-1638. Further Settlements in Connecticut. 
In 1635, parties from Massachusetts removed to the valley 
of the Connecticut, and founded the towns of .Windsor, 
Wethersfield, and Hartford. A settlement was made at 
the mouth of the river, and named Savbrooke after Lord 



22 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

Say-and-Seal, and Lord Brooke. Among those who fol- 
lowed thither from Massachusetts in 1636, was Rev. Thomas 
Hooker, who had just come over from England, and who 
became a minister of the church in Hartford ; and, in 1638, 
Rev. John Davenport, who with his associates settled New 
Haven.. These early settlers in Connecticut were involved 
in a formidable war with the Pequod Indians. 

1636. Roger "Williams and Rhode Island. Roger 
Williams was a Welshman by birth, who came to America 
in 1631, and was for a time a minister of the church in 
Salem. He soon provoked opposition by his opinions on 
various subjects ; and particularly for his protest against 
the right of the magistrates to punish other offences than 
those against the civil law ; and by order of the general 
court was presently banished. This act would seem to 
have confirmed what was a previous purpose in his mind, 
of founding a colony of his own upon the principles of the 
broadest civil and religious freedom. Eluding the attempt 
of the authorities to send him back to England, he pro- 
ceeded with a few companions to the shores of Narragan- 
sett Bay and founded Providence, giving that name to the 
settlement in recognition of what he esteemed to be the 
divine leading. The organization of the First Baptist 
Church in America soon followed on this spot, and in time 
the colony secured a charter from England, Williams him- 
self serving as president for between two and three years. 
The fundamental principle of this Rhode Island Colony 
was an absolute prohibition of all interference with the 
rights of conscience. 

1638. Harvard College. This, the oldest collegiate 
institution in the United States, was projected by the 
Massachusetts colonists as early as 1636, who appropriated 
;^400 as its foundation. But its actual existence began two 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 23 

years later, with its further endowment by the will of Rev. 
John Harvard, minister of Charlestown, whose name it 
bears. The first class entered upon study at this time, 
under the instruction of Nathaniel Eaton. 

1639. The Connecticut Colonists adopted a written 
constitution, the leading features of which afterward en- 
tered into the constitutions of other States. In this same 
year Stephen Day, or Daye, set up at Cambridge the first 
printing-press in the colonies, the first issue of which was 
the "Freeman's Oath." 



IV. 
PERIOD OF COLONIAL GROWTH. 

I 640-1 7 7 5. 

1641. The people of New Hampshire put them- 
selves under the jurisdiction of Massa- 1564-1642. Ga- 
chusetts, and so remained for nearly ^^^^ ^^.^.^ ^^ 
forty years. In this same year Sir Wil- m England. 
liam Berkeley came over as Governor of Parliavicjtt ar- 
,-. . . rayed a^amst 

Virgmia. Charles L 

1643. The United Colonies of New England. 
For their mutual benefit the Plymouth, Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, and New Haven colonies i545' Baitle of 
banded together this year under the f^l'^^l^f;; 
name of The United Colonies of New Charles I. and 
England ; each to be independent as the parlia7nen- 

, . . , ^. . , tary forces tmder 

respected its own mternal affairs, but Croimvell and 

submitting matters of joint interest to the Fairfax. Final 
control of commissioners, two from each ^J/cr^—Jrch-'^^' 



24 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

bishop Laud be- colony, who were required to be church 
headed. members. Here we find the seed of the 

present union of the States. 

1646. John Eliot's Mission to the Indians. John 
Eliot, Englishman, and a student of Cambridge, came to 
Boston in 1631, became "teacher" of the church in Rox- 
bury, was impressed with the religious needs of the Indians, 
acquired their language, and preached to them for the first 
time. in what is now Newton, October 28, 1646. The re- 
mainder of his life he devoted to the work which was here 
begun ; pursuing it for forty-four years with most fervent 
zeal. He travelled extensively among the Indians, planted 
churches, trained up native preachers to assist him in the 
work, ministered freely of such substance as he had to 
their wants, translated the Bible into their language, and in 
short exercised a commanding and inspiring influence upon 
them in every way. The place of Eliot's burial is not 
known, but a monument has been erected to his memory 
at South Natick. 

1647. Governor Stuyvesant. Peter Stuyvesant 
reached New Amsterdam this year under appointment of 
the Dutch West India Company, as "director-general" of 
New Netherlands. He found the colony considerably dis- 
turbed by reason of Indian hostilities on the one hand, and 
boundary disputes on the other. He at once vigorously 
addressed himself to the cure of these troubles, and was 
in a measure successful, but his administration of affairs 
was not very popular. Little by little the New England 
ideas took hold of the New Netherlanders, and when, in 
1664, King Charles II. granted to his brother, the Duke of 
York, the whole of the territory from the Connecticut River 
to the Delaware, Governor Stuyvesant was forced to surren- 
der his rule to the expedition sent out to take possession of 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 2$ 

the province. Thus the Dutch colony of New Netherlands 
passed under the control of the English, Stuyvesant being 
its last Dutch governor, and the town of New Amsterdam 
changed its name to New York. 

1637-1648. Church Assemblies. The period en- 
closed within these two dates was marked by several 
representative gatherings of the New England Congrega- 
tional churches, all of considerable importance. The first, 
the Synod of Newtown, now Cambridge, was held in 1637, 
mainly for the correction of certain alleged doctrinal errors. 
The second, held also at Cambridge, in 1646, with succes- 
sive adjournments to 1647 ^'^^ 1648, put jg.Q_ Execii- 
forth what is known among Congrega- tion of Charles I., 

tionalists as the Cambridge Platform, a ^''^^ f'^fj^'^'- 

f mcnt of the Eng- 

declaration of church discipline. These Ush Common- 

two synods, or councils, were the first of "^eaith. 

the series which has lately developed into the National 

Council of Congregational Churches. 

1652. The colony of Maine passed under the juris- 
diction of Massachusetts. jgco. Sect of 

Friends^ or " Quakers^'''' fonitded in England by George Fox. 

1656. Persecution of the Quakers. An attempt 
I was made by the New England Colonies igr^, Oliver 
to keep out the Quakers, who were be- Cromwell made 

ginning to come over in considerable ^ordFro.ecor 
° ° of tLns;land. 

numbers. Some were sent back, and john^ Milton his 
forbidden to return under pain of death, private secretary. 
k A few who braved this decree were put -V'. j'^^^'^lf 
to death. But in consequence of a re- Poland declared. 
action in public sentiment this severity 1604-1660. Rem- 
of treatment was relaxed. brandt. 

1660. The Regicides. Edward Whalley and Wil- 
liam Goffe, two of the judges who tried and condemned 



26 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1660. Restora- Charles I., fled to America after the 
tio7i of the Stu- restoration. Being pursued, they took 
arts to the throne , • ^1 -.j -r- 

of England, in ^^fuge in the wilderness. For some 

the persoti of time they concealed themselves in a 
Charles H. ^^^^ ^^^^ 1^q\m Haven, and afterward 

were harbored by a minister of Hadley. Many years after, 
when a sudden attack upon the latter town by the Indians 
was in progress, an old, white-bearded man appeared in the 
midst of the scene, rallied the terror-stricken inhabitants 
and put the enemy to flight. The mysterious stranger, 
who was none other than Goffe, then disappeared. 

1663. The Grand Model. This was the name given 
to a constitution framed for the government of a colony 
projected by the Earl of Shaftesbury, Sir William Berke- 
ley, Sir George Carteret, and several others, to whom 
Charles II., in consideration of services rendered him, 
granted the immense tract of land lying between Virginia 
and Florida. Shaftesbury and John Locke drew up the 
instrument, which provided for a social structure of truly 
mediaeval description. The Carolinas were settled under 
this charter. 

1664. New Jersey. The territory composing this 
State belonged originally to the Dutch colony of New 
Netherlands. With the submission of that colony to the 
English, under the Duke of York, this southern portion of 
it was conveyed by him to Sir William Berkeley and Sir 
George Carteret, receiving its present name out of com- 
pliment to the latter, who was formerly Governor of the 
Island of Jersey in the British Channel. Elizabethtown 
was settled in 1664, and here Carteret took up his residence 
a year later. Most of the first settlers of New Jersey came 
from New York and the New England colonies. 

1665. Father Allouez. In this year we find Father 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 2/ 

Allouez, a Jesuit priest, exploring the region about the 

Great Lakes and the upper valley of 
,,,.... 1, . 7 • 1 loQ!;. The 

the Mississippi, collecting geographical piague in Lon- 

data, and establishing missions among don carries off 

the Indians. His residence in America J^'^''^-^ ^0,000 

persons. 
extended from 1658 for a number of 

years, until his death. 

1666-1675. Marquette and the Mississippi. The 

second European to explore the Mississippi was Jacques 

Marquette, a French Jesuit, who came ,g^ . 

to Canada in 1666, and succeeded Father ^^^ in London 

Allouez as a missionary among the In- destroys 8g 

dian tribes in the vicinity of the Great '/i]l7ic7uiTdTngs, 

Lakes. He died in 1675 ^' ^ ^P^^ ^^ i3?ooo houses, 

the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan f^^ ^^>'",^^^^^ 

° 700 streets. 
which now bears his name. The years 

of his residence in the wilderness were largely taken up 

with exploring expeditions, one of which was the descent 

of the Mississippi, nearly to its mouth. 

1669. La Salle. La Salle was a Frenchman, who 
came to Canada in 1666, and three years later entered on 
a series of expeditions through the interior of the continent 
which, with interruptions of one or two trips home, con- 
tinued for nearly ten years. He sailed through the Great 
Lakes in a vessel of fifty-five tons, of his own construction, 
descended the Ohio River to the point where Louisville 
now stands, and the Mississippi to its mouth. He finally 
perished by the hands of his disaffected followers, his plans 
for a settlement at the mouth of the Mississippi having all 
miscarried. 

1670. The city of Charleston, S. C, was founded 
about this time, by an English colony under William 
Sayle. 



28 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1675. King Philip's "War. The war between the 
Massachusetts colonists and the Indians, known as King 
Philip's War, was begun in this year by an attack of the 
Indians on the town of Swanzey. The colonists at once 
retaliated, and hostilities continued for some three years, 
in the course of which a number of battles were fought 
and many lives lost on both sides. The war ended with 
the death of Philip. 

1681. Pennsylvania. In this year William Penn, a 

Quaker, received from Charles II. a grant of all the territory 

,o p- ^ now included in the State of Pennsyl- 

fenny-post set np vania, for the purpose of founding a 

in Lo7ido7t and Christian community dedicated to jus- 

its suburbs. x'x.i j tt x^ 

tice, truth, and peace. He sent out 

three ship-loads of emigrants at once, and followed himself 
with a large additional number the next year. One of his 
first acts was to hold a conference with the Indians, with 
whom he established friendly relations at the outset. Pre- 
vious settlers upon the territory were treated with the same 
consideration, and the result was the commencement of his 

1683. Discovery colony under peculiarly pleasant and 

of the famous favorable auspices. The city of Phila- 

'•'' Rye House j 1 i • i -j ^ 

Plot ^' for the delphia was laid out, upon a map, m 

assassination of 1 683, and the second provincial assem- 

the English king, ^jy ^^^^ ^eld there the same year. 

Troubles subsequently arose between Penn and some of 

the colonists, which resulted in the secession of three 

counties. This was the origin of Delaware. 

1685-1690. Political Troubles. This was a 
period of considerable political trial to the young colonies. 
King James of England, minded to restrict the liberties 
of the New England colonies, sent over Sir Edmund An- 
dres as Governor General, with arbitrary powers for the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 29 

censorship of the press, the levying of 16S5. The rev- 
taxes, and the control of the militia, 'i^jf^,,,,^ 
Andros speedily made himself obnoxious by Louis XIV. 
to the colonists, who took no pains to of France, lets 

, . . ,. . ,-, r loose 7tpon Prot- 

conceal their indignation. By way of estants fresh 

retaliation, Andros summoned both furies of perse^ 

Rhode Island and Connecticut to sur- ^^^^°^- 

render their charters; but his tyranny ^^y/^" 

came to an end with the accession of 16S8. 'fames II, 

William to the English throne, by whom abdicates the 

he was summoned home. In New York ^"f'!\ ^"'"T'J'^ 

and IS succeeded 

one Jacob Leisler, a demagogue, put by William III. 
himself at the head of a force of disaf- ««^ Mary II., 
. 1 . . . ■. 1 r 11 Prince and 

fected citizens, seized the fort and the princess of 

public funds, assumed the title and pow- Orange, 
ers of commander-in-chief, and attempted the subjugation 
of the entire province. After a brief exercise of his usurped 
authority, he was superseded by Henry Sloughter, sent 
over as Governor by King William, and was finally put to 
death as a traitor. 

1689. King William's War. In this year the In- 
dians joined the French in Canada in a war against the 
New England Colonies which continued for a number of 
years, and was the occasion of great sufferings to the set- 
tlers. Many frightful massacres occurred, and many set- 
tlers were carried into captivity. 

1692. William and Mary College was founded this 
year, at Williamsburg, Virginia, making it next to Harvard 
the oldest college in the country. It was named for the 
English King and Queen. In this year also the Salem 
Witchcraft troubles began, the theory of which was that 
the devil made use of human confederates for the torment- 
ing of people. These confederates were called witches. 



30 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

Within a few months some twenty persons in and about 
Salem were convicted of witchcraft and put to death, and 
many more suffered various other penalties. 

1699. Louisiana. The attention of the French was 
promptly turned to the region which La Salle had ex- 
plored and unsuccessfully attempted to settle, and Lemoine 
D'Ibberville was soon commissioned to plant a colony at 

„ ,, the mouth of the Mississippi. He en- 

1700. ^^ New 

Style'''' ofnota- tered the river in March, being the first 
Hon of time in- who had ever entered it from the sea ; 
%imliy'by ascended it nearly to the mouth of the 
dropp'ing the last Red River, and founded a settlement 
eleven days of where is now Biloxi in Mississippi. 
Shortly after the colony was removed to 
the vicinity of Mobile. 

1705. The Presbyterians. The first Presbyterian 
church on American soil was that of Snow Hill, Maryland, 
organized, in 1690; but the first presbytery, that of Phila- 
delphia, was not organized till 1705. A synod of four 
presbyteries was constituted in 1716, and in 1758 the 
American Presbyterian Churches united as one ; holding 
in 1789 a General Assembly which represented 419 con- 
gregations with 188 ministers. 

1702-1713. Queen Anne's "War. This was the 

period of another savage warfare, in which the colonies 

were more or less generally involved ; the Indians being in 

many cases instigated and supported by the French. It 

16^2-1704. fohn '^^^ ^^ ^^^ course of this war that the 

Locke. Massachusetts village of Deerfield was 

1707. England surprised by a force of French and In- 

llifdTundlr ^^^^s, almost all its buildings burned, 

t/ie title of and thirty-six of its inhabitants slain out- 

Great Britain. right ; while over a hundred were carried 



OF THE UNITED STATES, 3 1 

prisoners to Canada, some of them even being killed on 
the way. 

1711-1715. Indian "War in the Carolinas. Dur- 
ing these years the Tuscaroras and 
Corees made war upon the settlers J7^|-^ ^f^^^f"'^/ 
along the coast of North Carolina, Utrecht, acquires 
creating much havoc in many villages. Gibraltar^ Mi- 
„ 111 1 1 , J • norca. Nova Sco- 

Scarcely had peace been concluded m ^a, Ncwfound- 

this quarter before the tribes further to iand, and Hud- 
the south commenced hostilities, and ^"' ^ '^* 
South Carolina was involved in a conflict Jl^^'^ HoitsTot 
which lasted several years longer, Brunswick^ 

1715. The foundations of Natchez *^f ^«^^ f^ Britjsh 
, ^, ^ , , , . , throne : head of 

and New Orleans are to be discerned the present line. 
about this time in the early settlements 1651-1715, 
of the French along the valley of the Penelon. 
Mississippi. 

1717. The Mississippi Bubble. John Law, a fa- 
mous European speculator and stock-jobber, was chief 
agent in the organization of what was called " The Mis- 
sissippi Company." This corporation j 689-1 725. Peter 
secured for a long term of years a mo- the Great, sole 
nopoly of supposed great privileges in ^'"P^^or of Rus- 
Louisiana. As a consequence the stock i(),',-x-j2j 
first went up to a fabulous price, and Sir Isaac New- 
then came a disastrous explosion. ^^^^' 

1729. Separation of the Carolinas. Up to this 
time North and South Carolina had existed as one province 
under the general superintendence of 1729, Appear- 
the same proprietors. But shortly ^jue of the Mctho- 
before a quarrel had broken out between E7t^^land — The 
the proprietox's and the people, the re- Wesleys. 
suit of which now was that the former surrendered their 



32 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

charter to the king. North and South Carolina became 
separate provinces, each under its own royal government. 

1732. The Birth of George 'Washington. George 
Washington was born February 22d (nth, Old Style) 
in Westmoreland County, Va., Parish Washington, near 
Pope's Creek. His father was a large landed proprietor, 
who traced his English ancestry back to the 12th century. 

1733. Georgia. The territory which composes the 
present state of Georgia originally formed part of the. 
Carolinas, but in this year was granted by George II. to a 
corporation for settlement under the title of the Colony of 
Georgia. In the autumn of this year, General Oglethorpe 
took out the first colony, consisting of about 120 persons, 
and in the year following founded Savannah. Oglethorpe 
at once established friendly relations with the Indians, and 
the colony entered on a prosperous career, though hostilities 
ensued with the Spanish settlers in Florida. The colony 
was visited at an early day by John Wesley and George 
Whitefield on religious errands. After Oglethorpe's final 
return to England in 1743, the colony entered on a period 
of adversity. Slavery, which had at first been interdicted, 
was introduced, and in 1752 the colony surrendered its 
charter and was erected into a royal province. 

1733. The liberty of the press to discuss political 
measures was vindicated and established through the case 
of the "New York Weekly Journal," publishedby one John 
Peter Zenger^ which had dared to criticise some of the 
arbitrary acts of the Governor and Assembly in the imposi- 
tion of taxes. 

1734. The preaching of Jonathan Edwards, one 
of the most celebrated of American divines and metaphy- 
sicians, led to a very extensive revival of religion through- 
out the New England Colonies. It was in the course of 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 33 

this revival that he delivered his famous sermon on " Sin- 
ners in the Hands of an Angry God." 

1741. New Hampshire was finally separated from its 
connection with Massachusetts. 

1744. King George's War. This war between the 
English colonies and the French broke out in Cape Breton 
in an attack by the French upon an Eng- g 

lish garrison, which M^as captured and Young Prince 
carried to the Fortress of Louisburg. Charles grand- 
r^, r ,. . , T.T T- 1 1 •5'<^'* io fames II. . 

The followmg year the New England attemp/s to re- 

Colonies sent an expedition of several cover the British 

thousand men, under command of Wil- ^7 C.f.f ;f 

Ham Pepperell, to release the prisoners. Fomiding 

The expedition was successful and of the British 

Louisburg capitulated. It was restored Museum. 

to the French by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, 

which marked the end of this war. 

1755-1763. The Old French and Indian War. 

War again broke out between the French and English 

over the possession of the territory which now forms Ohio. 

The French held it, and resisted the en- ^^ Lisbon 

trance of the English. In 1753, George Portugal, de- 

Washington was sent by the Governor 'i'-^yf'-^ ^y. ''"' 

° \ earthquake. 

of Virgmia to protest agamst the course 

taken by the French. The protest was of no avail and 
hostilities began. General Braddock came over in 1765 to 
lead forward the English forces. In a J70_J76^_ 
battle at Fort Du Quesne, where Pitts- " Seven Years' 
. . 1 T. 1 1 1 J War," between 

burg now stands, Braddock was de- p^^J^i^ ^ttd 

feated and slain. Washington succeeded Austria. 

to the command. Of two simultaneous i757- The Eng- 

... ^ J ^, ,, , lish under Lord 

expeditions toward the north, only one q-^,^ recapture 

was successful. The war was however Calcutta, and 



34 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

remin ascen- carried forward. A force under Lord 
dency in India. Amherst captured Fort Ticonderoga 
1684-1759. aj-jj Crown Point, and another, led by 

General Wolfe, marched upon Quebec, 
which finally fell before a siege. Both Wolfe, and Mont- 
calm the French commander, were slain. So ended this 
war, Canada passing under British rule. 

1762. The French cede Louisiana to Spain. 

1764. The charter of Brown University was 
granted at the instance of the Philadelphia Association of 
Baptist Churches. 

1765. Resistance to the Stamp Act. The Stamp 
Act was a measure adopted at this time by the British 
Government to secure revenue. It provided that for all 
legal documents only a certain kind of stamped paper 
should be used, sold by the government. The American 
Colonies felt it to be very unjust that they should be 
obliged to pay taxes in this way to a government in which 
they had no share. " No taxation without representation " 
was the principle for which they contended. The first 
formal protest against the obnoxious measure was offered 
in the Assembly of Virginia, by one of its youngest mem- 
bers, Patrick Henry, in the shape of resolutions, which he 
supported by a speech since famous. " Caesar had his 
Brutus," exclaimed the young patriot, " Charles the First 
his Cromwell, and George the Third" — at which point he 
was interrupted for a moment by the cry of ''Treason " in 
the hall ; whereupon, concluding his sentence, he added 
— "may profit by their example. If that be treason, make 
the most of it." * Massachusetts and others of the colonies 

* A portrait of Speaker Robinson, who called Patrick Henry to order 
during tliis celebrated speech, has lately been added to the collection in 
Independence Hall, Philadelphia. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 35 

joined Virginia in resistance to what was considered such 
oppressive treatment on the part of the Mother Country, 
and on the day when the Stamp Act finally went in force, 
the bells throughout the country were tolled, and flags 
were lowered to half-mast, in token of the "funeral of lib- 
erty." A year later the Act was repealed by Parliament. 

1765. The First American Congress. The feeling 
in the colonies over the Stamp Act was such as to induce 
Massachusetts to call together a representative assembly 
to consider the situation. Delegates from nine out of the 
thirteen colonies met accordingly in New York, in October 
of this year ; made a declaration of rights, drew up a 
memorial to the British Parliament, and addressed a peti- 
tion to the king. This was the first congress. 

1767. The Tea Tax. In place of the repealed Stamp 
Act, the British Parliament imposed a tax on tea and other 
commodities of common and needful use imported by the 
colonies ; M'hich was only imperilling in another way the 
principle for which the latter were contending. This tax 
was resisted like the other, Massachusetts of the colonies, 
and Boston of Massachusetts towns, being foremost in the 
opposition. 

1769. Daniel Boone set out this year upon an ex- 
pedition to explore Kentucky, whither he afterward re- 
moved with his family. He rendered good and faithful 
service in fighting the Indians. 

1770. The Boston Massacre. The presence of 
British troops in Boston, for the purpose of enforcing hate- 
ful laws and putting down insubordina- lyii-iv^o 

tion, did not tend to allay the public George White- 
excitement. On the evening of the 5th fi'^^'-^' 
of March an actual affray took place in the streets of the 
city, between the exasperating soldiers and the hot-blooded 



36 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

citizens. A squad of the former, acting under direction of 
1770. Captain one Captain Preston, fired upon the 
Cook discovers crowd, wounding several persons, and 
fal^s'/ofsZTt"^ killing three. One of the killed was 
of New South Crispus Attucks, a mulatto, who was 
Wales, ti^g leader of the mob. This unfortu- 

nate affair produced intense feeling throughout the colo- 
nies, and was another exciting cause of the Revolution. 

1772. The Fate of the " Gaspee." The Gaspee was 
a British war vessel, which, in the rendering of some ser- 

1689-1772. vice distasteful to the indignant colo- 

Ema7iucl Swe- nists, in Narragansett Bay, had got 

^' aground a few miles below Providence. 

News of her mishap spread rapidly, and under cover of 

night a party of patriots boarded her, captured the crew, 

and burned the vessel. 

1773. The Spilling of the Tea. The perpetuation 
of the tax on tea, as the king had said, just "to keep up 
the right of taxing," embittered the colonists generally more 
and more, and led to the formation in various parts of the 
country of associations of persons under pledge not to use 
any tea until the tax was removed. Some of the resistants 
to the tax went even further, and resolved that no tea at 
all should be landed in the country. When therefore it 
was learned in Boston that several cargoes were on the 
way, a mass meeting was called at Faneuil Hall, which 
afterward adjourned to the Old South Church, and it was 
then and there resolved that the ships ought to be sent 
back. The governor, Hutchinson, refused his consent to 
this measure. When therefore the ships had arrived in 
their berths, a band of men, disguised as Indians, went on 
board, and threw all the tea over into the sea. This was 
on the i8th of December, and is known as the "Boston 
Tea Party." 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 37 

1774. The Boston Port Bill. To punish Boston 
for this act, the British Parliament passed a bill closing 
Boston to commerce, and transferring the seat of the colo- 
nial government to Salem. This was 1 728-1 774. 0/i- 
intended to cut off the city from all out- "^^^ Goldsmith. 
side communications by water, which would have been a 
very serious matter ; but gifts began at once to flow in 
from the other colonies, and with them came plenty of 
sympathy and moral support, so that the fires of the Revo- 
lution, instead of being put out, were fanned into a new 
glow. In this same year General Gage superseded Hutch- 
inson as Governor of Massachusetts. 

1774. The Continental Congress. This body, 
called into being by the gravity of the situation, met at 
Philadelphia, September 5, fifty-five delegates being pres- 
ent, representing all the colonies but Georgia. Among its 
numbers were George Washington, Patrick Henry, Samuel 
and John Adams, and President Witherspoon of Princeton 
College. The unanimous spirit of the Congress was one 
of firmness in resisting what were deemed the encroach- 
ments of Great Britain and of readiness for the worst. 
A declaration of rights was adopted, the chief demands of 
which were for the right of the colonies to make their own 
laws and lay their own taxes ; and for the removal of the 
British standing army, except with consent of the colonies 
for its remaining. Following these deliberative measures, 
active preparations for the armed support of them were 
begun in the colonies, in Massachusetts especially ; while 
at Boston, as being the source and centre of the trouble, 
British troops began to be gathered in considerable num- 
bers. 



38 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

V. 

PERIOD OF THE REVOLUTION. 

1775. Lexington and Concord. The actual begin- 
ning of the War of the Revolution was at Lexington and 
Concord^ towns a few miles to the west of Boston. Mas- 
sachusetts had collected some military stores at Concord, 
the more remote of the two. General Gage determined on 
their destruction, and, on the night of the iSth of April, 
secretly despatched a body of troops to effect it. The 
purpose of the movement was discovered, and the warning 
given by Paul Revere, who rode out from Boston and 
alarmed the residents along the road. The "minute-men," 
as a portion of the colonial militia were called who were ex- 
pected to be ready for any such sudden emergency, sprang 
to arms. When the British troops reached Lexington they 
were fired upon, and here (April 19th) was spilled the first 
blood of the Revolution. Major Pitcairn was in command 
of the invading force. He pushed on to Concord, and suc- 
ceeded in destroying some of the stores ; but was finally 
forced to beat a retreat, and suffered heavily in returning 
to Boston. His losses were nearly 300 killed and wounded. 

1775. Tlie Continental Army. With the battle of 
Lexington and Concord any expectation of a peaceable 
settlement of difficulties between the American colonies 
and Great Britain ceased. The raising of a New England 
army of 30,000 men was promptly decided upon; the quota 
of Massachusetts to be 13,000. By the ist of May 20,000 
men were encamped about Boston, leaving the British 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 39 

practically shut up in the city. General Ward commanded 
the Massachusetts men, General Stark those from New 
Hampshire, General Greene those from Rhode Island, and 
Generals Putnam and Spencer those from Connecticut. 

1775. The Capture of Ticonderoga. While the 
Continental Army was assembling, a force of Connecticut 
and Vermont volunteers, led by Benedict Arnold and 
Ethan Allen, marched to Forts Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point, at the foot of Lake Champlain, both of which im- 
portant fortresses were captured, with all their valuable 
stores. Throughout this period of opening conflict, the 
hearts of the Virginians, Carolinians, and Georgians beat 
one with those of the New England colonists. 

1775. The Second Continental Congress assem- 
bled in Philadelphia on the loth of May. In addition to 
the distinguished members of the previous body, there 
were present Benjamin Franklin and John Hancock. 
Still another address was sent to the King, denying any 
desire for separation from England, and asking simply for 
a redress of grievances. At the same time a federal union 
was resolved upon, measures were adopted for the organi- 
zation and equipment of an army and navy, and George 
Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. 

1775. The Battle of Bunker Hill. This first really 
important, and perhaps most famous, battle of the Revo- 
lutionary War, was fought June 17th, on one of the hills 
of Charlestown, now a part of Boston. It resulted in a 
defeat for the Americans ; but it was a defeat which meant 
more and better for them than most victories. The en- 
gagement grew out of an attempt of the Americans to pre- 
vent the British from fortifying the hill, and so strengthen- 
ing their hold upon Boston. The Americans landed in the 
night and threw up intrenchments, which the British as- 



40 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

saulted the following day. The attacking force numbered 
about 3000 men, being two to one of the Americans, and they 
were twice repulsed before finally carrying the day. Their 
losses were upwards of 1000 killed and wounded ; these 
figures bearing the same proportion to the American losses 
as above. The severest blow to the Americans was in the 
death of General Joseph Warren, an eminent physician of 
Boston, and an ardent and active patriot, who had just 
been commissioned a brigadier-general in the American 
army. He was instantly killed by a bullet in the forehead. 
1775. Washington takes Command of tiie 
American Army. This important and interesting his- 
torical incident occurred on the 3d of July, under a noble 
tree by the edge of Cambridge Common. The tree stands 
to this day, and is known as *' The Washington Elm." 
Generals Lee, Schuyler, Ward, and Putnam were made 
Washington's chief military assistants. His first work 
was the thorough organization and discipline of the army, 
which up to this time was in rather a sorry condition as 
respects every thing except spirit. 

1775. An Invasion of Canada. In the latter months 
of this same year an attempt was made to wrest Canada 
from the British. An army commanded by General Mont- 
gomery, an Irishman, took Montreal, and then, effecting a 
junction with a second force which General Arnold had 
led in the same direction, made an attack on Quebec. 
This last ended in failure, Montgomery perishing, and 
Arnold being wounded, in the assault. The Americans 
finally withdrew from the province, leaving it in possession 
of the British. 

1776. The British evacuated Boston on the 17th 
1711-1776. of March, over 1000 Americans who were 
David Hume. loyal to the King going with them. Yet 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 4 1 

England had not abandoned the contest, but was prepar- 
ing to prosecute it more energetically than ever. 

1776. A Movement for Independence. On the 
7th of June, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia introduced 
these resolutions in Congress : — 

" That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free 
and independent States ; that they are absolved from all allegiance 
to the British crown ; and that all political connection between 
them ^nd the State of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dis- 
solved. 

" That it is expedient forthwith to take the most effectual meas- 
ures for forming foreign alliances. 

" That a plan of confederation be prepared, and transmitted to 
the respective colonies for their consideration and approbation." 

These resolutions provoked a spirited and prolonged 
discussion, but led to the appointment of a committee to 
draft a more formal declaration in accordance with their 
tenor. This committee consisted of Thomas Jefferson of 
Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Benjamin Frank- 
lin of Pennsylvania, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, and 
Robert R. Livingston of New York. The declaration pre- 
pared by this committee was written mostly by Jefferson. 

1776. The Declaration of Independence. The 
paper itself was formally adopted by Congress on the 4th 
of July, 1776, and with virtual unanimity. [See Appendix.] 
Thus the thirteen colonies resolved themselves into The 
United States of America, and this is the event which we 
still celebrate annually in the "Fourth of July." The 
place where Congress was assembled was the old State 
House in Philadelphia, now known as Independence Hall. 
Great rejoicings followed everywhere. 

1776-1782. The 'War of the Revolution. The 
colonists having thus declared their independence, had 
now to fight for it, and make their declaration good. 
Seven years of fighting ensued. The young States put 



42 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

^ o r Af • forth all their strength. The English 
Coo^ discovers hired Hessian troops from Germany in 
i/ie Sandwich addition to their own. Prominent among 
their commanders were Lord Howe, 
Lord Cornwallis, and General Burgoyne ; while to the 
names of those American leaders who have been men- 
tioned, with others such as Marion and Sumter, are to 
be added such as Lafayette, Kosciusko, De Kalb, Pu- 
laski, and Steuben, foreigners of distinction who came 
over to help the colonists battle for their liberties. One 
of the most important fields of military operations was 
New Jersey, though the Carolinas witnessed a campaign, 
and there was fighting about the borders 
J^?4-i778. Vol- ^^ Vermont and New York. The war 
1 71 2-1 7-8 Jeaft "^^'^^ marked by the usual vicissitudes. 
Jacques Rous- The Americans won victories of consid- 
^^^"' erable consequence at Trenton, Prince- 

ton, and Monmouth, N.J. ; Bennington, Vt. ; Saratoga and 
Stony Point, N.Y. ; and Cowpens and Eutaw Springs, in 
the Carolinas. On the other hand they suffered disastrous 
defeats at Germantown, Pa., and at Camden and Clinton, 
S.C. At one time they were depressed by the treason of 
Benedict Arnold ; at another they were elated by the nego- 
1778 Lo7ds tiation of a treaty with France. This 
XVI. of France latter measure was effected by Frank- 
declarcs Ti'ar jj^ and others, in 1778, and resulted in 

against Englajid , ... . ' . , . , , 

in aid of the the acquisition of substantial aid by the 

American colo- young and struggling nation. One win- 
'"^^' ter was spent by the army in great hard- 

ship and suffering at Valley Forge, near Philadelphia. 
The campaign in the Carolinas was marked by great re- 
verses. On the coast there were naval engagements, such 
as that memorable one in which Paul Jones, in the Bon- 



OF THE UNITED STATES, 43 

homme Richard, took the British man- j-g^ ^^^^ 
o£-war Serapis. The beginning of the George Gordoti's 
end came at Yorktown, Va., where, on '^'^f'^-Popcry 

. ^ , „ -^ , ^ riots tn London. 

the iQth of October, 1781, Lord Corn- 

wallis and his whole force of 7000 men surrendered to 
Washington. In the following year the British Gov- 
ernment determined on an abandonment of the contest. 
Preliminary articles of peace were agreed upon in No- 
vember, 1782 ; and a final treaty between the two coun- 
tries, by which Great Britain acknowledged the United 
States to be "free," sovereign, and independent," was 
signed September 3, 1783. The evacuation of New 
York, in November following, completed the removal of 
British troops from American soil. During the seven 
years of the Revolutionary War, Great Britain sent to 
America a total of about 112,000 land-troops, and 22,000 
seamen. The colonies raised in all, including over 50,000 
militia, about 280,000 men. But the actual forces engaged 
at any one time were comparatively very small ; insignifi- 
cant by the side of those that fought some of the battles 
of the late Rebellion. 



VI. 

PERIOD OF NATIONAL GROWTH. 

1783-1817. 

1783. Paying the Soldiers. One of the first things 

Congress had to do, on the close of the 1783. Treaty of 

Revolutionary War, was to appease the Versailles; 

^A• t, 1- J u • 1 ' Peace bcixveen 

soldiers, who had been paid m paper- Britain, France, 

money that had become almost worth- and Spain. 



44 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

less, and were therefore in a state of great and just discon- 
tent. Almost a mutiny, in fact, broke out in the army 
178s;. The cele- ^^^ause of dissatisfaction on this point 
brated afair of and some others related to it, and only 

the "Diamond Washington's discreetness and decision 
Necklace. ^^ „ , , 

quelled the trouble. 

1784, The Methodist Church. Previously to this 
time Methodist preachers had travelled extensively through 
the country, but now Dr. Coke was sent over from Eng- 
land by Wesley, as superintendent of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church in the United States, and formal organization 
followed. 

1735. Tlie Episcopal Church. The first organiza- 
tion of the Episcopal Church in the United States was 
effected in September of this year. Already however the 
Episcopalians of Connecticut had elected Rev. Dr. Seabury 
their bishop ; who was duly consecrated in Scotland in 
1784. Subsequently Rev. Drs. William White of Pennsyl- 
vania, and Samuel Provost of New York, were raised to 
the same office ; and, following them. Rev. Dr. James 
Madison of Virginia, a relative of him who was afterward 
President Madison. The first General Convention met in 
1789, and the revised Book of Common Prayer came into 
use in 1790. 

1785, John Adams was this year appointed minister 
to Great Britain, — the first appointment to that position. 

1786, The Roman Catholic Church. This may 
be accepted as the date of the founding of the Roman 
Catholic Church in the United States, for it was in this 
year that Rev. John Carroll, a native of Maryland, but 
educated in France, was appointed vicar-general by the 
Pope, and took up his official residence in Baltimore. 
This was at the instance of Benjamin FranJclin, whom he 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 45 

had previously accompanied on a political mission to 

Canada. Three years later Mr. Carroll was made the first 

Roman Catholic bishop in the country, and subsequently 

was raised to the archbishopric. 

1787. The Constitution. The convention of States 

by which the present Constitution was framed, met this 

year in Philadelphia. The work occupied four months ; 

and, after a thoroucrh discussion of the ^p „ ., 

' *= 17SS, First 

instrument m the several States, it was English settle- 



ments in Aus- 
tralia. 



finally adopted by all of them, Rhode 
Island voting last, in 1790. The Con- 
stitution went into operation, however, when two-thirds of 
the States had voted in the affirmative. At this point the 
history of the United States of America properly begins. 
The framers of the constitution were as follows : — 

George Washington, President of the Cottvention and Dep- 
uty from P''irginia. 

From New Hampshire: John Langdon, Nicholas Gtlman. 

From Massachusetts : Nathaniel Gorham, Rufus King. 

From Connecticut'. William Samuel Johnson, Roger 
Sherman. 

From Ncxv York : Alexander Hamilton. 

From Ncxv Jersey: William Livingston, David Brearley, 
William Patterson, Jonathan Dayton. 

Frojn Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Mif- 
flin, Robert Morris, George Clymer, Thomas Fitzsi- 
mons, Jared Ingersoll, James Wilson, Gouverneur 
Morris. 

Frojn Delaxvare: George Read, Gunning Bedford, Jr., 
John Dickinson, Richard Bassett, Jacob Broom. 

Fr'oni Maryland: James McHenry, Daniel of St. Thomas 
Jenifer, Daniel Carroll. 

From Virginia: John Blair, James Madison, Jr. 

From North CaroVuia: William Blount, Richard Dobbs 
Spaight, Hugh Williamson. 

From South Carolina : ]on^ Rutledge, Charles Cotes- 

WORTH FiNCKNEY, CHARLES PiNCKNEY, PlERCE BUTLER. 

From Georgia: William Few, Abraham Baldwin. 
William Jackson, Secretary. 



46 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

The thirteen original States, with the dates in which they 
severally adopted the constitution, were these : — 

Delaware, 1787. Maryland, 1788. 

Pennsylvania, 1787. South Carolina, 1788. 

New Jersey, ,, New Hampshire, ,, 

Georgia, 1788. Virginia, ,, 

Connecticut, 1788. New York, ,, 

Massachusetts, 1788. North Carolina, 1789. 
Rhode Island, 1790. 

I. Washington's Administration. 

George Washington, of Virginia, President: 1789-1797. 
John Adams, of Massachusetts, Vice-President: 1 789-1 797. 

1739. Washington and Adams entered upon office 
April 30, New York City being the capital. Their adminis- 
tration witnessed a rapid and gratifying consolidation of the 
nation, and the inauguration of a sound system of finance, 
one of the features of which was a United States Bank. It 
17S8-1795. Iin- was also marked by a troublesome war 
pcachment trial ^rjjh the Indians on the northwest fron- 
of Warreii Hast- . . . . j rr . r 

in^-s Governor- tier; by some impressions and effects of 
General of India, the French Revolution, and by the rise of 
1780-1702. *^^° great political parties. These were 

French Rcvolii- first the Federalists, led by Washington, 

lion. Proclama- ^dams, Hamilton, and Jay, who were 

tion oj a republic . . . 

by the National satisfied with the organization of the 

Assembly. government, and the turn which affairs 

were beginning to take ; and, second, the Republicans, or 

Democrats as they were afterwards called, who, to a hearty 

sympathy with the French Revolutionists, joined a strong 

feeling in favor of State Rights. Among the leaders of 

the latter were Jefferson, Madison, and Samuel Adams. 

The Federalists would subordinate the States to the nation ; 

the Republicans or Democrats, the nation to the States. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 47 

The Federalists were the conservatives, and looked with 
little favor on the movement in France against the mo- 
narchical idea ; the Republican-Democrats were the radi- 
cals, and would have liked to help France on to success. 
On all these issues party spirit ran high. 

1791. Vermont admitted to the Union : 14th State. 

1792. Kentucky admitted to the Union : 15th State. 

1793. Washington and Adams 1793. Exccic- 

were inaugurated for a second term. ^^^JllJ^f ^V",t 
T 1 TT 1 :^T^ cu V A XVI. and M.-,' 

John Hancock and Roger Sherman died ^/^ Antoinette. 

this same year. Reign of Terror. 

1794. A treaty of commerce and i795- Mungo 

, . - , , Park enters It pon 

navigation was concluded between the j^i^ African ex- 

United States and Great Britain. plorations. 

1796. Tennessee admitted to the 1759-1796. Rob- 
TT • /-.i Oi. ^ ert Burns. 

Union : loth State. „ , 

1720-1797. Ed- 

1794-1825. The Unitarian Con- ,^,„^ Burke. 

troversy. These two dates — the first, 1796-1815. W^^jrj- 
that of Dr. Joseph Priestley's visit to ^/ Napoleon. 
this country ; the second, that of the organization of the 
American Unitarian Association — may be taken as includ- 
ing the period of the so-called Unitarian Controversy, the 
chief parties to which were the Unitarian and Trinitarian 
Congregational Churches of New England. There was 
a fierce war in print, some litigation as respects church 
property, and a final consolidation of the Unitarians as 
a distinct religious body. 

II. Adams's Administration. 

John Adams, of Massachusetts, President: 1797-1801. 
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, Vice-President: 1 797-1801. 

This administration was distinguished by the existence 
of very critical relations with France, the adjustment of 
which was barely accomplished without war. 



48 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

VJ91. Peace Commissioners to France. C. C. 

Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall were sent by 
the administration to France to negotiate a settlement of 
the difficulties between the two countries. Instead of a 
courteous hearing, they got only an intimation that, unless a 
considerable sum of money were forthcoming, war might 
be the result. " War be it, then," said Pinckney ; "millions 
for defence, but not one cent for tribute." Such was the 
noble and constant spirit of the fathers. Hostilities act- 
ually began with a naval combat in the West Indies ; but 
in 1800, with the accession of Napoleon Bonaparte to 
power in France, peace was restored. 

1799. George Washington died at Mount Vernon, 
December 14, aged 67 : " First in war, first in peace, and 
first in the hearts of his countrymen." 

1800. The seat of G-overnment was removed from 
New York to Washington. A census showed a national 
population of something over 5,000,000. 

III. Jefferson's Administration. 

Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, President: 1801-1809. 
Aaron Burr, of New Jersey, Vice-President: 1801-1S05. 
George Clinton, of New York, Vice-President: 1805-1809. 

1801. The accession of Mr. Jefferson, it must be 
noticed, betokened a change of political parties. Wash- 
ington and Adams were both Federalists, Jefferson was a 
Democrat. His administration was very vigorous, and 
made strong friends and bitter enemies. 

1802. Ohio admitted to the Union : 17th State. 

1803. The Louisiana Purchase. At this time the 
name Louisiana applied to the whole immense territory 
enclosed by the Mississippi River, the Pacific Ocean, the 
Gulf of Mexico, and the British Possessions on the north. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 49 

This entire tract, comprising nearly 900,000 square miles, 
was now bought of France for $15,000,000. The national 
area was thereby more than doubled. The President at 
once sent an expedition to explore the new acquisition. 
The party, headed by Captains Lewis and Clark, traversed 
the continent, and brought back a wonderful story of ob- 
servation and adventure. This is known as the Lewis and 
Clark Expedition. 

1804. War against the Pirates. American com- 
merce had suffered heavily from pirates on the Barbary 

coast. A naval expedition was sent to „ ,r , 

, . , 1 r„ . ,. 1 1804. Napoleon 

make reprisal, and Iripoli was bom- proclaimed Em- 

barded. It was in this naval c-3.\xy^2\g'i\ peror of the 

that the young Lieutenant Decatur so ■^^^'^'^'• 

distinguished himself. 

1805. Burr and Hamilton. Ex- Vice-President Burr, 
attributing to Alexander Hamilton some of the political 
misfortunes which were beginning to attend him, chal- 
lenged him to a duel. In this duel Hamilton was killed, 
and Burr was obliged to take himself out of the way, to 
escape the consequences which an indignant people were 
ready to inflict upon him. Shortly after he was suspected 
of treasonable designs for the formation of an independent 
domain in the West ; but, though for lack of evidence he 
was formally acquitted of the charge, he never recovered 
from the stigma which these two incidents in his career 
fixed upon him, 

1807. The Embargo. The indignities and injuries to 

which American commerce had been subjected, by reason 

of war between France and Great Brit- 1807, Abolition 

ain, induced Congress, at the President's of the slave-trade 

. . , , . , throitcrhoiit the 

mstance, to issue an embargo, which ^^■^■^J^ domin- 

detained all vessels in American ports, ions. 
4 



50 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1S0S-1S14. The and required all American vessels then 

PaimsiilarWar: ^^^ ^^ return home. This measure, 

±Lng!ana auixng ■' 

Spain against the which practically put an end to com- 

Frettch. merce, and so occasioned an almost 

complete prostration of business, was one of the most 
unpopular acts of Jefferson's Administration. The em- 
bargo was repealed in 1809. 

1807. Robert Fulton's steam-boat, the Cler- 
mont, was launched this year, and made its first voyage 
upon the Hudson, at the rate of about five miles an hour. 

1807. The importation of slaves into the United 
States from any foreign country was made illegal after this 
time by Act of Congress. 



IV. Madison's Administration. 

James Madison, of Virginia, President: 1809-1817. 
George Clinton, of New York, Vice-President: 1809-1813. 
Elbridge Gerry, of Massachusetts, Vice-President : 1813-1817, 

1810. Population of the United States 7,300,000. 
1812. Louisiana admitted to the Union : iSth State. 
1812. The War of 1812. The chief feature of 
President Madison's administration was another war with 
England, known as the war of 1812, it being in that year 
that hostilities actually commenced. For several years 
iSi-? Napoleon'' s American commerce had suffered from 
Campaign in British cruisers, by whom vessel after 
Kiissia. vessel was seized and confiscated. The 

whole difficulty grew in some measure out of the mighty con- 
flict then progressing between France and other European 
Powers, and there were not a few Americans who thought 
France was quite as much at fault for the injustice suffered 
by the young republic as England. War against England 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 5 1 

was finally declared in June of this year. The President 
was authorized to raise an army of 75,000 men, under 
Major-General Henry Dearborn, as commander-in-chief. 
His lieutenants were Generals Wilkinson, Hampton, 
Hull, and Bloomfield. The principal fighting in this war 
between the land-forces, was along the Canada frontier, 
where the English had the Indians for their allies ; but its 
distinguishing feature, perhaps, was its naval battles, of 
which there were several that have become famous. These 
were fought not only at sea, but on the Great Lakes. In 
one of them the American frigate Constitution captured 
the British frigate Guerriere. In another, on Lake Erie, 
Commodore O. H. Perry captured an entire British fleet 
of six vessels ; a most memorable engagement. 

1814. Capture of the Capital. In this the second 
year of the war occurred the most serious disaster which it 
brought to the American cause. A British force of 5000 
men approached Washington by way of ^g^^^ Napoleon 
the Chesapeake, and, after a skirmish surrenders to the 
with the militia at Bladensburg, cap- allies, and retires 
tured Washmgton, and burned the 
President's Plouse, the Capitol, and other public build- 
ings. A subsequent attack upon Baltimore was repulsed. 
At the close of the year a treaty of peace was signed at 
Ghent, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and others acting 
in behalf of the United States. 

1814. The Hartford Convention. The great op- 
position to the war, manifested by the Federalists, led to 
the holding of a New England representative convention, 
which met at Hartford, December 15, and continued in 
session twenty days with closed doors. George Cabot 
was President. This convention was suspected of trea- 
sonable designs, and a regiment of Kentucky troops was 



52 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

sent to Hartford to watch it ; but its final deliverances 

proved to be eminently patriotic, albeit offering a decided 

protest to some of the war-measures of the administration. 

1815. The Battle of New Orleans. Though 

peace had been negotiated, the war was not over. "While 

the news was on the way across the sea, a British force of 

12,000 men attacked New Orleans. The city was defended 

1815. Napoleon ^^ 5^00 men under General Andrew 

snddenly returns Jackson. The battle of New Orleans 

from Elba. Bat- ^yas fought on the 8th of January, and 

tie of Waterloo. . \ , a c . t .x. 

■' . the result was a heavy defeat for the 

British. It was the last battle of the war. 

1815. Pirates Again. Soon after the termination of 
hostilities a naval force was despatched by the government 
to the Mediterranean to punish the Algerine pirates, and 
very successfully did it accomplish its work. 

1816-17. A National Bank. In its session during 
these years Congress chartered a national bank at Phila- 
delphia, with a capital of $35,000,000. 

1816. Indiana admitted to the Union : 19th State. 

1817. The American Colonization Society was 
organized. 



VII. 
PERIOD OF SLAVERY AGITATION. 

1817-1861. 
V. Monroe's Administration. 

Tames Monroe, of Virginia, President: 1S17-1825, 

Daniel D. Tompkins, of New York, Vice-President: 1817-1825. 

The slavery agitation had its rise with Mr. Monroe's ad- 
ministration. 
1817. Mississippi admitted to the Union : 20th State. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 53 

1818. Illinois admitted to the Union: 21st State. 

1819. Alabama admitted to the Union : 22d State. 

1820. Maine admitted to the Union : 23d State. 
1820. Population of the United States 9,600,000. 

1820. The Missouri Compromise. With the 
erection of each territory into a new State the contest 
between the friends and opponents of slavery deepened ; 
and over the admission of Missouri, in 1820, there was a 
prolonged and severe struggle. Even as early as this 
were to be heard the prophetic notes of the terrific conflict 
which finally ensued. Said Mr. Cobb of Georgia : "A fire 
has been kindled which all the waters of the ocean cannot 
put out, and which only seas of blood can extinguish." 
To which Mr. Tallmage of New York replied : " If civil 
war, which gentlemen so much threaten, must come, I 
can only say, let it come ! ... If blood is necessary to 
extinguish any fire which I have assisted to kindle, while 
I regret the necessity I shall not hesitate to contribute my 
own." Missouri was finally admitted, but by a compromise 
between the two factions. The clause prohibiting slavery 
was stricken out of the bill, and a proviso introduced that 
henceforth no slavery should be tolerated north of latitude 
36° 30'. This was the famous Missouri Compromise ; by 
which it was expected the slavery agitation would be ended. 

1821. Missouri admitted to the Union : 24th State. 

1823. The Moaroe Doctrine. In his annual mes- 
sage this year President Monroe gave form and expression 
to a principle which became known as "the Monroe 
Doctrine," and has taken an important and permanent 
place in the policy of the country. It is this : " That 
the American Continents, by the free and independent 
position which they have assumed and maintained, are 
henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future 



54 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

colonization by any European power." This declaration 
grew out of the recognition by Congress of certain Spanish 
American republics, wliich had lately assumed their inde- 
pendence. 

VI. Adams's Administration. 

John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, President: 1825-1829. 
JOHN C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Vice-President : 1S25-1829. 

A distinguishing feature of this administration was 
the march of what may be called internal hnprovements. 

1825. The Erie Canal. The completion this year 
178S-1824. of the Erie Canal imparted quite an ira- 
Byron. pulse to the extension of this method of 

inland navigation. 

1827. The first railroad in the United States was 
built, leading from the granite quarries at Quincy, Mass., 
to tide-water, a distance of some three miles. The cars 
were drawn by horses. 

1826. Ex-Fresidents John Adams and Jefferson 
died on the same day of this semi-centennial year, and that 
day the Fourth of July : altogether a very remarkable 
coincidence. 

1828. The Tariff. The Protectionists succeeded this 
year in the enactment of a high tariff, the operation of 
which consisted in the laying of a heavy tax upon foreign 
productions for the sake of encouraging home manufactures. 
Party spirit ran high on the question, and a new element 
was added to the political complications of the time. The 
fact that the North, by reason of its manufactures, was 
interested in protection, and that the South was as warmly 
interested in free trade, tended to widen the breach which 
the slavery agitation had already opened between the two 
sections of the country. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 55 



VII. Jackson's Administration. 

Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, President: 1829-1S37. 

John C. Calhoun, of South Carolina, Vice-President: 1829- 

1831. 
Martin Van Buren, of New York, Vice-President: 1833- 

1S37. 

Jackson's administration was one of great vigor, turbu- 
lence, and excitement ; taking its complexion from the 
man himself, who was one of the most resolute, energetic, 
and remarkable of the long line who have filled this high 
office. The Whig party came into existence as the oppo- 
sition to Jackson's administration. 

1830. Population of the United States 12,800,000. 

1831. "William Lloyd Garrison established a 
weekly paper in Boston called the " Liberator." It was 
devoted to the advocacy of immediate and unconditional 
emancipation. This movement produced intense excite- 
ment at the South, and at the North led to the organiza- 
tion of the Abolitionists ; with the total result of so 
alarming Congress that it passed a law excluding anti- 
slavery publications from the mails. 

1332. "Webster's Reply to Hayne. In this year 
the contest in Congress over the tariff, and the issues which 
it raised, led to the memorable debate between Robert Y. 
Hayne, of South Carolina, and Daniel Webster, of Massa- 
chusetts. Hayne propounded extreme State-rights doc- 
trine, and Webster in his reply used those now famous 
words, "Liberty and Union, now and for ever, one and 
inseparable ! " 

1832. Nullification. The high tariff proved so ob- 
noxious to the South, that South Carolina actually at- 
tempted resistance and threatened seces- i''''i-iS-":>. Wal' 
sion. The particular champion of this ter Scott, 



56 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1749-1832. theory that a State had a right to nul- 

Goethe. Yxij an act of Congress was Mr. Cal- 

^A^nadecfcd ^°"" himself, who had resigned his 

• President of Vice-Presidency to take a seat as Sena- 

Mexico. tor from his native State. South Caro- 

1833. Slavery ijna armed, and prepared to execute her 

'throughout the t^^^^^' President Jackson ordered a 

British dorniii- military and naval force to Charleston 

^^.t- ^"Al^ °^ to maintain the Federal authority ; ac- 

Wiluam IV. . , . . , , 

company) ng this measure with a procla- 
mation warning the disaffected State that the laws against 
treason would be rigidly enforced. The vigorous action of 
the President had its effect, and put an end to the incip- 
ient rebellion. 

1832. The National Bank. President Jackson's 
opposition to the United States Bank was another marked 
feature of his policy. Congress having refused to adopt 
.his recommendation that the public funds be removed 
from the bank, he directed their removal on his own re- 
sponsibility. His course in this affair strengthened the 
opposition he had already encountered. A financial panic 
was one of the results of the disturbance. 

1835. The Seminole War. A war broke out this 
year with the Indians in Florida, which continued inter- 
mittently for about twenty years, greatly to the discomfort 
of the settlers of that territory, but finally to the subjec- 
tion of the Indians and their removal west of the Missis- 
sippi. 

o ^ A 1836. Arkansas admitted to the 

1837. Acces- 
sion of Queen Union: 25th State. 
Victoria to the 1837. Michigan admitted to the 

British throne. __ . /-,--. 

Union : 26th State. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 57 

VIII. Van Buren's Administration. 

Martin Van Buren, of New York, President : 1837-1841. 
Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, Vice-President : 1837-1841. 

The period of President Van Buren's administration was 
one of great financial stringency and disaster ; to the rem- 
edy of which difficulties the attention of the government 
was chiefly devoted. 

1837. The Financial Crisis. Almost the first act 
of President Van Buren was to summon in September an 
extra session of Congress to concert measures for the 
financial relief of the country, which had been overtaken 
by a commercial storm of unparalleled severity. Business 
was everywhere at a stand-still ; bankruptcy had become a 
common lot ; and by midsummer the banks universally had 
suspended specie payments. The President made definite 
recommendations to Congress for the cure of existing evils, 
but they were received with only partial favor. 

1837. Neutrality on the Canada Border. An 
insurrection of Canadians against the authority of Great 
Britain tempted some Americans living near the border to 
take sides against the latter in the attempt to suppress it. 
f This movement was promptly put down by the President, 
who backed up a manly and just proclamation of neutrality 
by sending a military force under General Scott to the 
scene of the disorder. 

1837. Michigan admitted to the Union : 26th State. 

1839. Hints of Disunion. The continued agi- 
tation of the slavery question provoked Mr. Rhett of 
South Carolina to propose a declaration by Congress that 
it was expedient that the Union be dissolved. Peace was 
preserved, for the time being only, by the adoption of a rule 
in the House that henceforth no petitions on the subject of 



58 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

slavery should be received. This rule continued in force 
some ten years. 

1839, 1840. The Government and the Banks. 

The closing part of President Van Buren's administration 

1840. Louis was marked by the carrying through 
Napolccn makes Congress of a favorite measure of his 
a revolutionary ^ , . r 1 1 i r 1 
demonstration ^o^ the separation of the banks of the 

in France; country from government connection, 

lZZ^!f":t ™d f°>^ ">' '-^"'P' -"d P^^ynient of gold 

prisonmcnt for and silver exclusively in all public trans- 

life at Ham. actions. • ' 

1840. The Hard Cider Campaign. The opposition 
awakened by President Van Buren's financial policy and 
other measures furnished the occasion, in connection with 
the election of his successor, of one of the most exciting 
and memorable political struggles in the history of the 
country. Mr. Van Buren was renominated by the Demo- 
crats. Against him the Whigs placed General William 
Henry Harrison ; who was a man of great popularity 
throughout the Interior, by reason not only of his personal 
character, but of his services on the northwest frontier in 
the War of 181 2. Popular feeling entered into the canvass 
to an uncommon degree ; songs, watchwords, and emblems 
abounded ; and the enthusiasm of partisans rose to the 
highest pitch. As a result General Harrison was elected 
by 234 votes out of the 294 thrown by the electoral college. 

1840. Population of the United States 17,000,000. 

IX. Harrison's Administration. 

William Henry Harrison, of Ohio, President : March 4 — 

April 4, 1S41. 
John Tyler, of Virginia, Vice-President : March 4 — April 4, 1841. 

This brevity of it was the distinguishing mark of Presi- 
dent Harrison's administration. The President died at 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 59 

the end of just a month from his inauguration, and before 
it had been possible for him to adopt any distinctive policy 
or to achieve any measures of importance. His previous 
career had earned for him great popularity, and the nation 
was plunged into mourning by his death. The campaign 
which had preceded his election to the Presidency was 
one of great excitement, to which fact, together with the 
fatigue incident to his inauguration, was attributed the 
illness which occasioned his death. 

X. Tyler's Administration. 
John Tyler, of Virginia, President : April 4, 1S41-1845, 

The two characteristics of President Tyler's adminis- 
tration were, first, the President's alleged betrayal of the 
political party which had elected him to office, and, second, 
the annexation of Texas. 

1842. The National Bank again. The efforts of 
the Whig Congress to re-establish a national bank were per- 
sistently set at nought bv the vetoes of the President, who 
was accordingly charged with having gone over to the 
Democrats. 

1842. The Ashburton Treaty. A dispute between 
the United States and Great Britain over 1843. Indepcn- 
the north-eastern boundaries was amica- daiceofthe 
, , ^^1 J 1 f ,. , Sa7idivich islands 

bly settled by means of a treaty nego- rccogiiized by 

tiated by Daniel Webster, then Secretary England and 
of State, acting for the United States, P^^^^^^- 
and Lord Ashburton on the part of Great Britain. 

1844. The Telegraph. The news of Mr. Polk's 
election to the Presidency was the first 1844. Daniel 
despatch ever sent by telegraph in the O' Conndl tried 
TT V , c. . T^T • at Dublin for se- 

United States. This was over a wire dition.and sen- 



6o PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

fenced to a yc(fr^ s erected by Professor S. F. B. Morse be- 
tmprisonme7it. ^^^^^^ Baltimore and Washington. 
1845. Florida admitted to the Union : 27th State. 

1845. The Annexation of Texas. Previous to this 
1 769-1845, Syd- time Texas, which had been a field of 
ney Smith. much contention between the Spaniards 

and the French, had assumed the position of an indepen- 
dent State, and the question of annexing it to the United 
States furnished occasion for yet more 
^FraJtklfnsIlfon controversy between the pro-slavery and 
a7i Arctic Expe- anti-slavery parties. The South urged 
dition from which t^e measure, as Mr. Calhoun said: "to 
he never returns. , , , , . r ■, ■, 

uphold the mterests of slavery, extend 

its influence, and secure its perman&nt duration." On 

this very account the North as zealously resisted it. 

1798-1845. Texas was finally admitted in the early 

ThojTias Hood. months of 1845, making the 28th State. 

The step was one of the causes of the Mexican War. 

XL Polk's Administration. 

James K. Polk, of Tennessee. President: 1S45-1849. 
George M. Dallas, of Pennsylvania, Vice-President : 1845-1849. 

The Mexican War and the settlement of California 
1845-1847. Fam- were the principal events in the national 
i7te in Ireland. history during this administration. 

1846. loTva admitted to the Union : 29th State. 
1846. The Oregon Treaty. Up to this time Great 

Britain had claimed Oregon as one of her possessions, but 
the acquisition of it by the United States was a declared 
purpose of Polk's administration. This year a treaty was 
concluded between the two Powers whereby the parallel 
of 49° was agreed upon as the southern boundary of British 
Possessions in the northwest. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 6 1 

1846. The "Wilmot Proviso. This was the name 
given to a measure proposed in Congress by David Wil- 
mot, representative from Pennsylvania, c f- r • »r 
in connection with steps taken to ensure />o/con escapes 
peace with Mexico. It was to this effect, from the fortress 
namely, that in case of the acquisition of ^•' 
any new territory by treaty with Mexico, " neither slavery 
nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of 
said territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall 
first be duly convicted." This Wilmot Proviso passed the 
House, but not the Senate, and is one of the mile-stones 
by which the progress of anti-slavery sentiment is to be 
noted. 

1846-1848. The Mexican "War. The annexa- 
tion of Texas to the United States had given rise to 
various disputes with Mexico^ as to boundaries and border 
regions, and in April a conflict of arms 1 780-1847. 
took place between Mexican and United Thomas Chal- 
States troops on the Rio Grande. War "^^''•^• 
was at once declared by the President as 'ithloTlLs 
" existing by the act of Mexico," and Philippe abdi- 

Congress promptly voted the supplies '^'^^^^: . ^^/"^'^^^. 
.,,/, ^ ^ . ^, proclaimed. Louis 

With which to promote it. General Napoleon, mem- 
Zachary Taylor, who first had been in beroftheNa- 
the field, was succeeded by General ^^l-^SV 
Winfield Scott as commander-in-chief, of the Republic. 
and a vigorous campaign was entered 1 767-1849. Ma- 
upon. The troops were chiefly furnished ^''^ Edgeworth. 
by States in the South and Southwest. Battles were 
fought at Palo Alto, Monterey, Buena Vista, Vera Cruz, 
Cherubusco, Molino del Rey, and other points, and finally 
before the City of Mexico, which surrendered to General 
Scott, September 14, 1847. The war was formally termi- 



62 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

nated by a treaty of peace negotiated at Gaudalupe Hidalgo, 
in February, 1848.* By this treaty the Rio Grande was 
determined as the boundary between Mexico and the 
United States, and New Mexico and California were ceded 
by the former to the latter. This war proved a training 
school for many young officers of the army who afterwards 
distinguished themselves in the war of the Rebellion. 

1847. The Mormons. For some years the sect known 
as Mormons had been gathering at Nauvoo, Illinois. Their 
principles and practices becoming obnoxious to the public, 
they were now driven out, partly by legislative decree, and 
partly by force of arms, and removed to Utah under the 
lead of Brigham Young. Salt Lake City was founded, 
and a year or two later a State was organized under the 
name of Deseret. 

1848. The California Gold Fever. The cession 
to the United States of the territory of California was 
speedily followed by the discovery of gold therein. This 
produced intense excitement throughout the country, and 
attracted thousands of adventurers to that as yet almost 
unknown region. 

1848. Wisconsin admitted to the Union : 30th State. 

1848. The Free-Soil Party. The agitation which 
grew out of the famous Wilmot Proviso led this year to 
measures for the organization of a new political party, 
pledged to the principle of "a free soil for a free people ; " 
whence its name. The Free-Soilers held a convention at 
Buffalo in August, and nominated Martin Van Buren for 
the Presidency, and Charles Francis Adams for the Vice- 
Presidency. The new party drew to itself from both 

* The quill pen with which President Polk signed the ratification of 
this treaty has lately been presented by Mrs. Polk to the Tennessee 
Historical Society. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 63 

Whigs and Democrats those who were in sympathy with 
anti-slavery ideas, and was the germ of the present Repub- 
lican party. 

XII. Taylor's Administration. 

Zachary Taylor of Louisiana, President : 1849-1850. 
Millard Fillmore of New York, Vice-President: 1849-50. 

President Taylor died after having been in office but a 
little over a year, but his brief administration was marked 
by a fiercer struggle than ever over the slavery question, 
and by the arrangement of certain measures of compromise, 
which were expected to heal the breach between the North 
and South, but failed to do so. 

1849. The Constitution of California. California 
having suddenly gathered to itself a large population, 
steps were taken by its citizens for the erection of the 
Territory into a State, To that €nd a constitution was 
framed and adopted. That constitution prohibited slavery. 

1850. California was admitted this year to the Union 
as a free State (31st State) ; but only after a bitter strug- 
gle in Congress, and by means of a compromise, which 
was effected mainly through the efforts 1 770-1 850. 

of Henry Clay. The chief features of Wordsworth. 
this compromise were the granting of territorial govern- 
ments to Utah and New Mexico, the question of slavery 
therein to be left for the inhabitants to decide ; the abolition 
of slavery in the District of Columbia; and the enactment 
of a stringent law for the return to their owners of fugitive 
slaves. There was a strong opposition to this compromise, 
led by such members of Congress as Charles Sumner and 
John P. Hale ; but Mr. Webster and other influential North- 
ern men supported it, and it finally carried the day. 



64 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1850. President Taylor died July 9, being suc- 
ceeded in office by Vice-President Fillmore. 
1850. Population of the United States 23,000,000. 

XIII. Fillmore's Administration. 
Millard Fillmore, of New York, President : 1850-1853. 

Mr. Fillmore's administration is to be chiefly remembered 
for the support it gave to the Fugitive Slave Law, and 
kindred measures of attempted compromise between free- 
dom and slavery. 

1850. The Fugitive Slave Law. This law received 
President Fillmore's signature in September, and with it 
the other provisions of the Clay compromise measures 
went into effect. The law was odious to a large proportion 
of Northern people, and no little difficulty was met with in 
executing it in some parts of the country. The publica- 
tion of Mrs. Stowe's " Uncle Tom's Cabin " occurred 
shortly after this ; a work of powerful influence in deep- 
ening the already growing opposition to slavery. 

1850. The Bulwer-Clayton Treaty. This was a 

treaty negotiated in Washington between Baron Henry L. 

E. Bulwer, British minister resident, and John M. Clayton, 

Secretary of State under President Taylor, having for its 

object the settlement of certain rights and privileges 

relating to canal communication across Central America. 

\^\. The^'Coup 1851. Cuba and the Filibusters. 

d'Efat.'^ Louis General Lopez led a band of filibusters 

^%f//^cTof"sH- f^o"^ New Orleans to Cuba, their object 

prone fower in being to aid the Cubans in the revolu- 

France. tionary work of throwing off the yoke of 

'^ner~Enliish ^^' Spain. The expedition was a failure, as 

landscape painter, one or two previous ones had been, and 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 65 

Lopez and a number of his followers paid for their temer- 
ity with their lives. jggj^ Openhig 

1851. Louis Kossuth visited the of the Great Ex- 
United States. hibition, London. 

1852. The Presidential campaign this year was an 
interesting and exciting one. Against Pierce and King, 
the Democratic candidates for the Presidency and Vice- 
Presidency, were pitted General Scott i%r-2.. Louis Na- 
and William R. Graham, the candidates poleon declared 

of the Whigs; while Daniel Webster f;^Z:%tder 
was strongly urged by his friends for the title of Nap- 
the first place on the latter ticket. Mr. ^^o"- -^^^• 
Webster died, however, in October, before the election 
took place. The Free-Soilers nominated John P. Hale, 
and George W. Julian. The popular vote at the election 
in November shows the comparative strength of the three 
parties at this important and interesting juncture : — 

Pierce and King 1,587,256. 

Scott and Graham 1,384,577. 

Hale and Julian 157,296. 

XIV. Pierce's Administration. 

Franklin Pierce, of New Hampshire, President: 1853-1857. 
William R. King, of Alabama, Vice-President: 1853-1857. 

Pierce's administration came into power pledged to the 
suppression by all possible means of any renewal of slav- 
ery agitation. This was its distinguishing policy. 

1853. The Gadsden Purchase. Difificulties which 
had arisen with Mexico over boundary questions were 
happily settled this year by James Gads- 1853. Sajtta 
den, United States Minister to Mexico. Anna chosen 

One of the features of the treaty which ^-^J^^ a or oj 
he negotiated was the purchase of the 1853-1856. Cri" 
tract of country corresponding to the 'fnean War. 
present Territory of Arizona for $10,000,000. 
5 



66 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1853. A Pacific Railroad. Jefferson Davis, Sec- 
retary of War, sent out expeditions to explore various 
routes proposed for a railroad from the Interior to the 
Pacific. 

1854. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Through the 
efforts of Stephen A. Douglas, United States Senator from 
Illinois, Congress passed in May a bill for the admission 
of the new States of Kansas and Nebraska. By the 
terms of this bill, the Missouri Compromise of 1820, 
which had prohibited slavery north of lat. 36° 30', was 
repealed, and the question of slavery or freedom in the 
proposed States was left to the people of the same to 
decide for themselves. This measure produced great 
indignation at the North, vastly strengthened the hands 
of the anti-slavery party, and led to a vigorous struggle 
between the friends of freedom and the champions of slav- 
ery for the possession of the government of the new States. 
" Popular Sovereignty " was our war-cry of the hour, and 
" Border Ruffianism " one of its dark features. The set- 
tlers who poured into Kansas came from both slave 
States and free. Each party organized a government and 
framed a constitution. There were collisions, massacres, 
and pillaging. At Ossawattomie, John Brown fought quite 
a little battle with invaders from Missouri. Finally the 
free-State men carried the day. 

1854. A Treaty vsrith Japan. Commodore Mat- 
thew C. Perry, commanding a United States Squadron, 
negotiated a treaty with Japan by which, almost for the 

1816-1855. first time in history, ports of that coun- 

Charlotte Bronte, try were thrown open to commerce. 

1856. " EZno-w-Nothingism." A political party came 
into existence this year, pledged to an opposition of foreign, 
especially Roman Catholic, influence. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 6/ 

1856. Speaker Banks. A memorable incident of 
the political conflict now in progress was the election of 
Hon. N. P. Banks of Massachusetts, formerly a Demo- 
crat, as Speaker of the national House of Representatives. 
The election was effected on the 133d ballot, after a contest 
of over two months, and was an important victory for the 
anti-slavery party. 

1856. The Assault on Sumner. On the 22d of 
May, Charles Sumner, United States Senator from Massa- 
chusetts, was assaulted in his seat by Preston S. Brooks, a 
member' of the House of Representatives from South 
Carolina. The occasion of the assault was a powerful 
speech delivered by Mr. Sumner shortly before upon " The 
Crime Against Kansas," in the course of which he had 
denounced slavery, its champions and its measures, in 
severe terms. With a stout cane Brooks inflicted terrible 
injuries upon the person of his victim ; from the effects of 
which indeed the latter never fully recovered. 

1856. The Fremont Campaign. Three sets of 
candidates were again in the field this fall for the Presi- 
dential campaign. The Democrats nominated James 
Buchanan and John C. Breckenridge ; the American or 
"Know-Nothing" party. Ex- President Fillmore and 
Andrew J. Donnelson ; and the Republicans, as the anti- 
slavery party had come to be called, John C. Fremont 
and William L. Dayton. The popular vote which fol- 
lowed shows the change which three years had witnessed 
in the relative strength of the leading political parties of 
the country : — 

Buchanan and Breckenridge .... 1,838,169. 

Fremont and Dayton 1,341,264. 

Fillmore and Donnelson 874)534« 



68 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 



XV. Buchanan's Administration. 

James Buchanan, of Pemisylvania, President: 1857-1861. 
John C. Breckenridge, of Kentucky, Vice-President: 1857- 
1S61. 

President Buchanan's administration was marked by the 
culmination of the slavery controversy and the incipient 
stages of the Rebellion. It was during this administration 
that Chief Justice Taney delivered the famous " Dred Scott 
Decision," to the effect that negroes had "no rights that 
white men were bound to respect." 

1857-8. A constitution for Kansas formed at 

1857. Sepoy Re- Lecompton led to a new and bitter 
bellion in India, conflict in Congress, but the bill based 
1 803-1 85 7. Z^fwp-- thereupon was finally passed. This was 
lasjerrold. known as the Lecompton bill and was 

approved by the President as a peace measure, but was 
opposed by the Republicans and a considerable fraction of 

1804-1857. Ell- the Democrats as being virtually in the 

ge7ie Sue. interests of slavery. 

1858. Minnesota admitted to the Union : 32d State. 
Telegraphic communication was temporarily established be- 
tween America and England by means of the Atlantic 
cable. 

1859. Franco- 1859. Oregon admitted to the 
Austrian War. Union : 33d State. 

1859. John Brown and Harper's Ferry. In 
October, John Brown, who had already appeared in the 
course of the troubles in Kansas, seized the United 
States Arsenal at Harper's Ferry, as a first step in an 
attempt to arm and free the slaves. He h-\d but a hand- 
ful of men at his command, and was speedily overpowered. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 69 

Half of his party were killed. Brown himself was tried 
by a Virginia Court and hanged for treason in Decem- 
ber following. This event created an intense excitement 
throughout the country. At the South it was regarded as 
a sign of a Northern purpose to liberate the slaves. 

1860. Lincoln's Election. The Presidential cam- 
paign of this year, which resulted in the election of Abra- 
ham Lincoln, was one of intense activity, jg^i. Victor 
and precipitated the stirring events of Emanitel pro- 
the Rebellion. Four sets of candidates 'j^'"^ {^^"f 'i. 
were in the field, for whom the popular agnized by Eng- 
vote was as follows : — land and France. 

Lincoln and Hamlin, (Rep.) 1,857,610. 

Douglas and Johnson, (Dem.) 1,365,976. 

Breckenridge and Lane, (Pro-Slav. Dem.) . 847,952. 

Bell and Everett, (Constitutional Union) . . 590,631. 

1860. Secession. Upon the election of Mr. Lincoln 
the Southern States at once proceeded to carry out their 
threats of secession. South Carolina took the lead, pass- 
ing the ordinance of secession in December. This action 
was rapidly followed in turn by Mississippi, Florida, Ala- 
bama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. 

1860. Population of the United States 31,400,000. 



VIII. 
PERIOD OF THE REBELLION. 

1861-1865. 

1861. The Beginning of the War. The secession of 
the Southern States was followed by a seizure on their part 
of forts, arsenals, and other United States property within 



70 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

their reach, together with large quantities of arms, ammu- 
nition, and other military stores, much of which had pre- 
viously been removed from the North. 

yaimary 29. Kansas admitted to the Union under the 
Wyandotte (anti-slavery) constitution : 34th State. 

February 4. Organization of the Southern Con- 
federacy. Delegates from the seceding States met in 
convention at Montgomery, Ala., and formed a provisional 
government under the style of Confederate States of Amer- 
ica. Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi, Secretary of War 
under President Pierce, was afterward chosen President, 
and Alexander H. Stephens, of Georgia, Vice-President. 

February 23. Abraham Lincoln, President-elect of 
the United States, reached Washington from the West 
in safety, notwithstanding fears of a plot to assassinate 
him while passing through Baltimore. 

XVI. Lincoln's Administration. 

Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, President : 1861 — April 15, 1865. 
Hannibal Hamlin, of Maine, Vice-President : 1861 — March 4, 

1865. 
Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, Vice-President: March 4, 

1865 — April 15, 1865. 

Lincoln's administration was devoted wholly to the 
putting down of the Rebellion, and will be for ever memo- 
rable as having, in connection with that stupendous work, 
effected the abolition of American slavery. 

March 13. Overtures for peaceful Separation. 
Commissioners Forsyth and Crawford, on the part of the 
government of the seceding States, attempted to open 
negotiations with the United States government looking 
to a peaceful adjustment of questions growing out of the 
proposed separation ; but the Secretary of State, Mr. 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 7 1 

Seward, by direction of the President, declined to enter- 
tain any sucli proposition from sucli a source. 

April 12th. Fort Sumter. General Eeauregard, com- 
manding Confederate troops, opened fire on Fort Sum- 
ter, in Charleston harbor, garrisoned by Major Anderson, 
U. S. A., with a small force. The bombardment lasted 
two days, and ended in the surrender of the fort. This 
commencement of actual hostilities aroused the entire 
North and united almost all hearts in the determination to 
protect the integrity of the Union. 

April 1 5^'/^. President Lincoln issued his first procla- 
mation, calling for 75,000 militia for a three months' service. 
Such was the estimate of the strength of the Rebellion, and 
of the time that would be required to quell it. 

April ic)th. The Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, 
passing through Baltimore on its way to Washington, was 
attacked by a mob in the streets. Three soldiers were 
killed, and the shots fired in return killed one and wounded 
several of the assailants. This, it is to be noted, was the 
anniversary of the battle of Lexington and Concord. 

May 3^. The President called for 42,000 three years' 
volunteers. — May i^th. General George B, McClellan took 
command of the Department of the Ohio. — May \%th. 
General Benjamin F. Butler took command of the Depart- 
ment of Virginia, with headquarters at Fortress Monroe. — 
May 2'jth, The passage of United States troops across the 
Potomac to take possession of the territory on its south 
side, was marked by the shooting of Colonel Ellsworth, 
commander of one of the regiments, in one of the hotels of 
Alexandria, which he had entered to pull down a rebel flag. 
— yune loth. Battle of Big Bethel. — July i^th. Congress 
assembled in extra session at the call of the President, 
and voted ample supplies for the work of suppressing the 
Rebellion. 



72 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

July 2ist. Battle of Bull liun. General IMcDowell, 
commanding a Union force of less than 30,000 men, en- 
countered a slightly smaller Confederate force, under 
Generals Beauregard and Johnston, on the banks of a small 
stream in N. E. Virginia, about twenty-five miles from 
Washington. The result of the battle which ensued was a 
defeat of the Union army, which, panic-stricken, fled in 
confusion back towards Washington. This was the first 
serious engagement of the war, and its effect was as dis- 
heartening to the North as it was stimulating to the South. 
October 21st. Battle of Ball's B\\\E.— October 3IJA 
General Scott was relieved from command of the Union 
army, and succeeded by General McClellan, who had 
somewhat distinguished himself in a short campaign in 
Western Virginia. — November 8t/i. Mason and Slidell, 
commissioners of the Confederate States to foreign powers, 
were taken from the British steamer Trent, by the United 
States steamer San Jacinto, Captain Wilkes ; an act which 
was quickly resented by England, and manfully repudiated 
by our own government. 

1862. yan. 11. Edwin M. Stanton superseded Simon 

Cameron as Secretary of War. — Feb. 6. Fort Henry, on 

the Tennessee River, surrendered to Commodore Foote, U. 

S.N. — Feb. 8. General Burnside, commanding a Union 

expedition, captured Roanoke Island. — Feb. 16. Fort 

l:)onelson followed Fort Henry, General Grant demanding 

1862 Arrival of '^^^ "unconditional surrender." — March 

French and 9- The unique and since famous naval 

English forces battle between the Merrimac and the 

tn Mexico. , r • r 1 • tx -r, i 

Monitor was fought m Hampton Roads. 

— March ii. General McClellan took command of the 
Army of the Potomac. — March 14. General Burnside cap- 
tured Newbern, North Carolina. — April 6. Battle of 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 73 

Shiloh, or Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee. — Apj^il 22. Sur- 
render of New Orleans to Commodore Farragut. 

Jiaie 26. Battles before Richmond. The Army of the 
Potomac, having previously been transferred to Fortress 
Monroe, and thence attempted a movement upon the capi- 
tal of the Confederacy from the south-east, finally entered 
on the series of bloody, unsuccessful, and disastrous en- 
gagements on the peninsular between the York and the 
James Rivers, known as the Seven Days' Battle before 
Richmond. The result was an entire failure, and a with- 
drawal of the army. 

Sept 17. Battle of Antietam. Encouraged by their 

successes on the peninsular, the Confederates, led by 

General Lee, crossed the Potomac into Maryland, captured 

Harper's Ferry and Frederick City, and 1862. The 

finally met the Union Army of the Poto- ^^^^J^^] "^ Mex- 

: , , . , . tco declare war 

mac m battle at Antietam, which proved aoainst Presi- 

one of the hardest fought engagements dent Juarez. 

of the war. Lee was defeated, but McClellan failed to 

follow up his victory, and the Confederates succeeded in 

withdrawing across the Potomac. 

Sept. 22. Emancipation. President Lincoln, taking 
advantage of the elation produced at the North by this 
success, issued a proclamation declaring that all slaves in 
States or parts of States still in rebellion by January i, 
1863, should then be free. 

Dec. 13. Battle of Fredericksburg. The Army of the 
Potomac, General Burnside having succeeded to the com- 
mand, again set out from its encampments in Virginia 
below Washington for Richmond, but was given battle 
by the Confederates at Fredericksburg, on the south bank 
of the Rappahannock, and defeated with serious losses. 

Dec. 31. Battle of Murfreesboro, or Stone River, 



74 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

1863. Jan. i. The President issued the formal 
Proclamation of Emancipation. 

1811-1S63. ^I'-^y 1- Battle of Chancellorsville. 

Thackeray. General Hooker, having succeeded to 

1863. Prince the command of the Army of the Poto- 
land declared' ^^c> attempted another movement upon 
Kmg of Greece, Richmond. Crossing the Rappahan- 
bitt not permitted y^QQ\^ at two points, he soon encountered 
Oy the British ^ , , , , , 
Gover7i7nent to Lee s army, and the battle ensued known 
accept the crown, as that of Chancellorsville. Hooker was 

defeated, and his army returned disheartened to its old 
quarters. 

July I. Battle of Gettysburg. Again the Confed- 
erate army in Virginia attempted the invasion of the North. 
This time Lee advanced into Pennsylvania, and the most 
memorable battle of the war was fought at Gettysburg, 
resulting in a decisive Union victory. General Meade was 
in command of the Northern army, having succeeded Gen- 
eral Hooker. 

July 4. Vicksburg. A brilliant campaign in the 
South-west, conducted by General Grant, culminated in the 
surrender of Vicksburg. These two burgs, Gettysburg and 
Vicksburg, constituted the high-water mark of the Rebel- 
lion. From this point the tide turned, and the Union 
armies closed slowly but steadily in upon the Confederacy. 

JiilyZ. Port Hudson surrendered to General Banks. — 
August 20. Guerillas under Quantrel destroyed the 
town of Lawrence, Kansas. — September 19. Battle of 
Chickamauga. 

November. "West Virginia admitted to the Union : 
35th State. 

1864. The Aus- 1864. March 8. General Grant was 
trian Archduke commissioned Lieutenant-General of the 



OF THE UNITED STATES. 75 

armies of the United States. — May 3. Maximilian ac- 
General Grant, at the head of the Army '^^MfxicoZTder 
of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan, the auspices of 
headed for Richmond. This was the France. 
beginning of that most memorable campaign, which 
ended in the capture of the capital of the Confederacy, 
the surrender of Lee's army, and the end of the war. — 
May — September. General Sherman's campaign in Geor- 
gia, resulting in the surrender of Atlanta. — Septetjiber — 
October. General Sheridan's exploits in the Shenandoah 
Valley. 

N'ovcfnber 8. President Lincoln re-elected for a 
second term. 

NauetJiber 16. General Sherman began his " march 
to the sea," which resulted in the capture of Savannah, 
December 21. 

Nevada admitted to the Union : 36th State. 

1865. Jamcary 16. Capture of Fort Fisher. — Feb. 18. 
Charleston, South Carolina, entered by General Gill more. 
— March 17. The Confederate Congress adjourned sine 
die. — April 2. General Lee's lines around Petersburg 
gave way before General Grant. — April 3. Capture of 
Richmond. — April 9. General Lee formally surrendered 
to General Grant at Appomattox Court House. 

April 14-15. Assassination of President Lincoln. 
On the evening of the 14th the President attended 
Ford's Theatre, Washington, and was assassinated by 
John Wilkes Booth, who shot him with a pistol pre- 
sented close to his head from behind, as he sat in his 
private box. Mr. Lincoln's consciousness immediately 
left him, and he died the following morning in a private 
house across the street, whither he had been removed. 
This assassination was part of a plot for the extermination 



^6 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

of all the chief officers of the civil government, Secretary 
Seward being also the object of a murderous assault. 
Eight of the conspirators were arrested, tried, and vari- 
ously punished. 



IX. 

THE NEW ERA. 

XVII. Johnson's Administration. 

Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, President: April 15, 1865-1S69. 

On the death of Mr. Lincoln, Vice-President 
Johnson succeeded to the Presidency. The war being 
virtually at an end, the chief work which fell to the new 
administration was that of reconstruction. President 
Johnson's policy as respected this work led to a serious 
conflict with Congress, and for this the period is to be mainly 
remembered. 

April 17. President Johnson made a speech in which 
he was understood to announce a rigorous policy toward 
the leaders of the Rebellion. — April 26. General John- 
ston surrendered to General Sherman. — May 10. Jeffer- 
son Davis captured. — May 14. The President issued a 
proclamation granting a conditional amnesty to all persons 
engaged in the late Rebellion, Avith the exception of fourteen 
specified classes. — On the assembling of Congress in De- 
cember, great hostility was developed to the reconstruction 
policy of the President, and a joint committee of fifteen 
was appointed to have charge of all questions concerning 
the return of the lately rebellious States. 



OF THE UNITED STATES. *JJ 

1866. February 22. In a speech before the White 
House the President planted himself in open hostility to 
Congress.— ^/r// 2. The President ,355^ War be- 
issued a proclamation declaring the tween Prussia 
Rebellion at an ^xv^. — June 3. Fenian ^^^d Austria. 
invasion of Canada. — July. Telegraphic communication 
permanently restored between America and England. — 
December, By act of Congress the right of suffrage with- 
out distinction of color was conferred in the District of 
Columbia, and the granting of the same 1866-1867. Ga- 
right made a condition of the admission ribaldi heads a 

of new Territories. These measures were "^ov^^^nt u^n 
strenuously opposed by the President. 

1867. February. Nebraska admitted to the Union : 
37th State. — March 2. In spite of the _. _ 
President's veto, Congress passed an French evacuate 
act creating five military districts out of Mexico. 

ten of the late rebellious States, with 1867. The Con- 
military governments for each. The stitution of the 
appointment by the President of com- ^InfeSraHon 
manders for these districts was followed adopted by the 

by a widening of the breach between Pmssjan Chctin- 
,. ,^ ^ ^ ber of Deputies. 

him and Congress. — August 12. Secre- 
tary Stanton was suspended from office by the President, 
and General Grant appointed Secretary of War ad interim. 
Congress subsequently refusing to sanction this act, General 
Grant promptly resigned the place to 1867. The Em- 

Mr. Stanton. — October 18. Formal pos- peror Maximil- 

tan of Mexico 
session taken of the new territory of executed at Que- 

Alaska, purchased of Russia. retaro. 

1868. January 6. The President "was censured in 
the House of Representatives for the jggg Endand 
removal of General Sheridan, commander makes war on 

of the fifth military 6:\?>ix\zt. — February Abyssinia. 



78 PARAGRAPH HISTORY 

21. Secretary Stanton was again removed, and General 

Lorenzo Thomas appointed in his place ad interhn. This 

act was followed by a resolution of Congress declaring 

SfiS K. / that the President had no right to make 

tioti in Spain. any such removal ; a declaration in 

FUght of Queen accordance with the tenure of office bill, 
of March 1867. Mr. Stanton therefore 
declined to vacate his office. — March 25. Resolutions 
impeaching the President for high crimes and misde- 
meanors were presented by the House to the Senate. — 
March 23 — May 26. Impeachment trial of President 
Johnson, at the bar of the Senate, with the result of his 
acquittal by a vote of thirty-five to nineteen. — Jime. 
Official reception by the Government at Washington of 
the Chinese Embassy, headed by Anson Burlingame. 

During all this time the quarrel between President and 
Congress continued unabated, bill after bill being passed 
over his veto. 

July 4. The President proclaimed amnesty to all 
engaged in the late Rebellion, except those already indicted 
for treason or other felony. — December 25. The President 
proclaimed universal amnesty. 

XVIII. Grant's Administration. 

Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, President : 1869-187 

Schuyler Colfax, of Indiana, Vice-President : 1869-1873. 
Henry Wilson, of Massachusetts, Vice-President: 1S73 

President Grant's administration, now nearly through 
a second term, has been distinguished by the carrying for- 
ward of the work of reconstruction, the smoothing over of 
1812-1870. the scars of war, the nurture of friendly 

Vharles Dickens, relations with other countries, and the 

1 871. Victor general development of national in- 
Evianuel makes ^ 



y^ 



OP THE UNITED STATES. 79 

terests. Examined in detail, some of its Rojjte the capital 
more conspicuous features, so far, have of Italy. Ton' 
been the enactment of an amendment to ^/^^ p^p^ ^^ J^ 
the Constitution, providing that "the end. 
right of citizens of the United States to 1870-1872. 
vote shall not be denied or abridged by Franco-Prussian 

. , r. 1 o War. Over- 

the United States, or by any State, on throw of the 

account of race, color, or previous con- French Empire. 
dition of servitude ; " the satisfactory ^j^LmlmJl 
settlement of the Alabama Claims by Final establish- 

arbitration with Great Britain, before a "^^^l^ 1^. ^ 

KcpubUc. 

tribunal at Geneva ; the final restoration „ _,, 

1871. The new 

to the Union of all the States lately in German Con- 

rebellion; some serious troubles at t\iQ federation for^ 



nially assumes 
the imperial 



South in connection with this work of 
restoration, and with the readjustment of na7ne and dig- 
society there to its new conditions ; a con- '"'-^' 
siderable reduction of the national debt ; the admission 
of Colorado to the Union — 38th State ; the agitation of the 
question of San Domingo annexation ; and the failure of 
the much wished for and long attempted civil service re- 
form. 
1870. Population of the United States 38,500,000. 



APPENDIX, 



THE STATES. 

The thirty-ei,!?ht States are as follows : the original thirteen 
being named in the order in wliich they ratified the Constitution ; 
the remaining twenty-five, in the order of their admission : — 



1. Delaware, 1787. 

2. Pennsylvania, 1787. 

3. New Jersey, ,, 

4. Georgia, 1788. 

5. Connecticut, 1788. 

6. Massachusetts, 1788. 

7. Maryland, 

8. South Carolina, 

9. New Hampshire, 

10. Virginia, 

11. New York, 

12. North Carolina, 1789. 

13. Rhode Island, 1790. 

14. Vermont, 1791. 

15. Kentucky, 1792. 

16. Tennessee, 1796. 

17. Ohio, 1S02. 

18. Louisiana, 1S12. 

38. 



19. Indiana, 18 16. 

20. Mississippi, 1817. 

21. Illinois, 1818. 

22. Alabama, 18 19. 

23. Maine, 1820, 

24. Missouri, 1821. 

25. Arkansas, 1836. 

26. Michigan, 1837. 

27. Florida, 1845. 

28. Texas, ,, 

29. Iowa, 1846, 

30. Wisconsin, 1848. 

31. California, 1850. 

32. Minnesota, 1858. 
^2' Oregon, 1859. 

34. Kansas, 1861. 

35. West Virginia, 1863. 

36. Nevada, 1864, 
27. Nebraska, 1867, 

Colorado, 1875. 



THE TERRITORIES. 

Arranged in the Order of their Organization. 



1. New Mexico, 1850. 

2. Utah, ,, 

3. Washington, 1853. 

4. Dakota, 1S61. 



5. Arizona, 1863. 

6. Idaho, „ 

7. Montana, 1864. 

8. Wyoming, 1868. 



9. Indian Territory, not yet organized. 
10. Alaska, ,, ,, ,, 



82 APPENDIX. 



PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES. 

George Washington, of Virginia, 1 789-1 797. 
John Adams, of Massachusetts, 1797-1 801. 
Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, 1801-1809. 
James Madison, of Virginia, 1809-1817. 
James Monroe, of Virginia, 181 7-1825. 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, 1825-1829. 
Andrew Jackson, of Tennessee, 1829-1837. 
Martin Van Buren, of New York, 1837-1841. 
William H. Harrison, of Ohio, 1841 (one month). 
John Tyler, of Virginia, 1841-1845. 
James K. Polk, of Tennessee, 1845-1849. 
Zachary Taylor, of Louisiana, 1849-1850. 
Millard Fillmore, of New York, 1850-1853. 
Franklin Pierce, of New Hampsliire, 1853-1857, 
James Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, 1857-1861. 
Abraham Lincoln, of* Illinois, 1861-1865. 
Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, 1865-1869. 
Ulysses S. Grant, of Illinois, 1869- 



THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, ADOPTED 
BY CONGRESS JULY 4, 1776. 

A declaration by the representatives of the united 

STATES OF AMERICA, IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED. 

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for 
one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected 
them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth 
the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of 
nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of man- 
kind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them 
to the separation. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident : that all men are created 
equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalien- 
able rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of 
happiness ; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted 
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the 
governed j that, whenever any form of government becomes de- 



APPENDIX. %2) 

stnictive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abol- 
ish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on 
such principles, and organizin-T its powers in such form, as to them 
shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Pru- 
dence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should 
not be clianged for light and transient causes ; and, accordingly, all 
experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, 
while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the 
forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of 
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces 
a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, 
it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new 
guards for their future security. Such has been the patient suffer- 
ance of these Colonies ; and such is now the necessity which con- 
strains them to alter their former systems of government. The 
history of the present King of Great fjritain is a history of repeated 
injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment 
of an absolute tyranny over these States. To prove this, let facts 
be submitted to a candid world : — 

He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome, and neces- 
sary for the public good. 

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and 
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation, till his 
assent should be obtained ; and, when so suspended, he has utterly 
neglected to attend to them. 

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of 
large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the 
right of representation in the legislature ; a right inestimable to 
them, and formidable to tyrants only. 

He has called together legislative bodies at places imusual, un- 
comfortable, and distant from the repository of their public records, 
for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his 
measures. 

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly for opposing, 
with manly firmness, his invasions on the rights of the people. 

He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause 
others to be elected ; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of 
annihilation, have returned to the people at large, for their exercise ; 
the State remaining, in the mean time, exposed to all the danger of 
invasions from without, and convulsions within. 

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these States ; for 
that purpose, obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreign- 
ers ; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, 
and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands. 

He has obstructed the administration of justice by refusing his 
assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. 



84 



APPENDIX. 



He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure 
of their offices, and the amount and paionent of their salaries. 

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and senttiither swarms 
of officers, to harass our people, and eat out their substance. 

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies, with- 
out the consent of our legislature. 

He has affected to render the military independent of, and supe- 
rior to, the civil power. 

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction for- 
eign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giving 
his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : — 

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us ; 

For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any 
murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these 
States ; 

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world ; 

For imposing taxes on us without our consent ; 

For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury ; 

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended 
offences ; 

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring 
province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarg- 
ing its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit 
instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colo- 
nies ; 

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, 
and altering, fundamentally, the powers of our govemments ; 

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves 
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. 

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his 
protection, and waging war against us. 

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, 
and destroyed the lives of our people. 

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercena- 
ries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already 
begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled 
in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civil- 
ized nation. 

He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high 
seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners 
of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands. 

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has en- 
deavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers the merciless 
Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished 
destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. 

In every stage of these oppressions, we have petitioned for redress 



APPENDIX. 85 

in the most humble terms ; our repeated petitions have been an- 
swered only by repeated injuiy. A prince whose character is thus 
marked by evei-y act which may define a tyx'ant, is unfit to be the 
ruler of a free people. 

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. 
We have warned them, from time to time, of attempts made by 
their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. 
We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration 
and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice 
and magnanimity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of 
our common kindred, to disavow these usuq^ations, which would 
inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They, 
too, have been deaf to the voice of justice and consanguinity. We 
must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our 
separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies 
in war ; in peace, friends. 

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of 
America, in general congress assembled, appealing to the Supreme 
Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the 
name and by the authority of the good people of these Colonies, 
solemnly publish and declare. That these United Colonies are, and 
of right ought to be. Free and Independent States; that they are 
absolved from all allegiance to the British crown, and that all politi- 
cal connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and 
ought to be, totally dissolved ; and that, as Ft'ee and Independent 
States, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract 
alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things 
which Independent States may of right do. And for the support 
of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of 
Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Uves, 
our fortunes, and our sacred honor. 

John Hancock. 

New Hampshire. — Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Mat- 
thew Thornton. 

Massachusetts Bay, — Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert 
Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry. 

Rhode Island, etc. — Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery. 

Connecticut. — Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William 
Williams, Oliver Wolcott. 

New York. — William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, 
Lewis Morris. 

New Jersey. — Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis 
Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark. 

Pennsylvania. — Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin 



S6 APPENDIX. 

Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George 
Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross. 

Delaware. — Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas M'Kean. 

Maryland. — Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, 
Charles Carroll of CaiTollton. 

ViRGiNLA.. — George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jef- 
ferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot 
Lee, Carter Braxton. 

North Carolina. — William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John 
Penn. 

South Carolina. — Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hayward, Jr., 
Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton. 

Georgia. — Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton. 



INDEX. 



Abolitionists, Organization of, 55. 
Aborigines, Tlie, 5. 
Adams, Charles Francis, 62. 
Adams, John, 37, 41, 44, 46, 47, 54. 
Adams, John Quincy, 51, 54. 
Adams, Samuel, 37, 46. 
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 33. 
Alabama, 53, 69. 
Alabama Claims, The, 79. 
Alaska, Purchase of from Russia, 

77- 
Allen, Ethan, 39. 
Allouez, Father, 26. 
Almagro, Diego de, 11. 
America, Origin of the Name, g. 
American Unitarian Association, 

The, 47. 
Amherst, Lord, 34. 
Amnesty, Proclamations of, 76, 78. 
Anderson, Major, 71. 
Andros, Sir Edmund, 28, 29. 
Antietam, Battle of, 73. 
Arizona, 65, 81. 
Arkansas, 56. 

Arnold, Benedict, 39, 40, 42. 
Ashburton, Lord, 59. 
Ashburton Treaty, The, 59. 
Atlanta, Surrender to General Sher- 
man, 75. 
Atlantic Cable, The, 68, 77. 

Baffin's Voyages, 18. 
Bahamas, The, 8. 
Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, 10. 
Ball's Bluff, Battle of, 72. 
Baltimore, Attack on Massachusetts 

Soldiers in, 67. • 

Baltimore, Lord, 21. 



Bank, The National, 52, 56, 59. 

Banks, N. P., 67. 

Baptists, First Church in America, 

22. 
Beauregard, General, 71, 72. 
Bell, John, 69. 
Bennington, Battle of, 42. 
Berkeley, Sir William, 23, 26. 
Big Bethel, Battle of, 71. 
Biloxi, 30. 
Birth of the First Child of English 

Parents in the New World, 14. 
" Blessing of the Baj'," The, 20. 
Bloomfield, General, 51. 
Boone, Daniel, 35. 
Booth, John Wilkes, 75. 
Border Ruffianism, 66. 
Boston, 20, 24, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 

Boston Massacre, The, 35. 

Braddock, General, 33. 

Breckenridge, John C., 67, 68, 69. 

Brewster, William, 17. 

Bristol, 8. 

British Possessions in the North- 
west, 60. 

Brooke, Lord, 21 

Brooklyn, City of, 18. 

Brooks, Preston S., 67. 

Brown, John, 66, 68, 69. 

Brown University, 34. 

Buchanan, James, 67, 68, 69. 

Buena Vista, Battle of, 61. 

Buffalo, Free-soil Convention at, 
62. 

Bull Run, Battle of, 72. 

Bulwer-Clayton Treaty, The, 64. 

Bunker Hill, Battle of, 39. 



ss 



INDEX. 



Burgoyne, General, 42. 
BurHns;ame, Anson, 7S. 
Bumside, General, 72, 73. 
Butler, General, 71. 
Burr, Aaron, 48, 49. 
Buzzard's Bay, 15. 

Cabot, George, 51. 

Cabot, John, 8. 

Cabot, Sebastian, 8. 

Calhoun, John C, 54, 55, 56, 60. 

California, 10, 60, 62, 63. 

Calvert, Cecil, 21. 

Calvert, George, 21. 

Calvert, Leonard, 21. 

Cambridge, 20, 23, 25, 40. 

Cambridge Platform, The, 25. 

Camden, Battle of, 42. 

Cameron, Simon, 72. 

Canada, 11, 15, 40, 57. 

Cape Breton, 13, 33. 

Cape Cod, 14, 15, 18, 19. 

Carolinas, The, 10, 26, 31, 42. 

Carroll, Rev. John, 44, 45. 

Carteret, Sir George, 26. 

Cartier, Jacques, 11. 

Carver, John, 19. 

Champlain, Lake, 15. 

Champlain, Samuel de, 15- 

Chancellorsville, Battle of, 74. 

Charles L of England, 26. 

Charles IL of England, 24. 

Charleston, S- C, 27, 56, 71, 75. 

Charlestown, Mass., 20. 22, 39. 

Cherubusco, Battle of, 61. 

Chesapeake Bay, 16, 18, 21. 

Chickamauga, Battle of, 74. 

Chinese Embassy at Washington, 
78. 

Church Assemblies, 25. 

Civil Service Reform, Failure of, 
79- 

Clay, Henry, 51^ 63. 

Clayborne, William, 21. 

Clayton, John M., 64. 

Clinton, Battle of, 42. 

Clinton, George, 4S, 50. 

Cobb of Georgia, Speech by, 53. 

Coke, Dr., 44. 

Colfax, Schuyler, 78. 

Coligny, 12. 

Colonization Society, The Ameri- 
can, 52. 



Colorado, 79. 

Columbus. 6, 7, 8, 9. 

Concord, Battle of, 38. 

Confederate Congress, Adjourn^ 
nient of, 75. 

Confederate States of America, 
Organization of, 70. 

Congregational Churches, 25. 

Congregational ists, English, 16. 

Congress, 35> 37» 39* 4ii 57. 58. 59» 
61, 63, 66, 67, 68, 76, 77, 78. 

Corinecticut, 21, 23, 2-), 39, 42. 

Constitution of the United States, 
The, 45- 

Constitution, Framers of, 45. 

Constitution, The Frigate, 51. 

Continental Army, The, 38- 

Continental Congress, The, 37. 

Cornwallis, Lord, 42, 43. 

Cortes, Hernando, 10. 

Cortereal, Caspar, 9. 

Cowpens, Battle of, 42. 

Crawford, Commissioner from Con- 
federate States, 70. 

Crispus Attucks, 36. 

Crown Point, 34, 39. 

Cuba, 10, 64. 

CuZCO, IX. 

Dakota, Territory of, 81. 
Dallas, George M., 60. 
Dare, Virginia, 14. 
Darien, Isthmus of, 10. 
Davenport, Rev. John, 22. 
Davis, Jefferson, 66, 70, 76. 
Davis's Strait, 14. 
Day, Stephen, 23. 
Dayton, William L., 67. 
Dearborn, Major-General, 51. 
Decatur, Lieutenant, 49. 
Declaration of Independence, 41, 

82. 
De Kalb, Baron, 42. 
De la Roche, The Marquis, 14. 
Delaware, 21, 28. 
De Soto, Ferdinand, 12. 
D'Ibberville, Lemoine, 30. 
Disunion, Hints of, 57. 
Donnelson, Andrew J., 67. 
Dorchester, 20. 

Douglas, Stephen A., 66, 69. * 
Dover,, N.H., 20. 
Dred Ccritt Decision, The, 68. 



INDEX. 



89 



District of Columbia, Abolition of 

Slavery in, 63. 
Duke of York, 24. 
DMtch, The, 17, 21, 24. 

East India Company, The Dutch, 

i8. 
Eaton, Nathaniel, 23. 
Edwards, Jonathan, 32. 
Eliot, John, 24. 
Elizabethtown, N. J., 26. 
Ellsworth, Col., 71. 
Emancipation, 73, 74. 
Embargo, The, 4g. 
Endicott, John, 20. 
Episcopal Church, The, 44. 
Erie Canal, The, 54. 
Eutaw Springs, Ijattle of, 42. 
Everett, Edward, 6g. 

Faneuil Hall, Boston, 36. 
Farragut captures New Orleans, 

73- 
Federalists. 46, 47. 
Ferdinand and Isabella, 7. 
Fillmore, Millard, 63, 64, 65, 67. 
Financial Crisis, A, 57. 
First White Child Born in New 

Netherlands, 18. 
Florida, 9, 12, 56, 60, 69. 
Foote, Commodore, 72. 
Forsyth, Commissioner. 70. 
Fort Donelson, Capture of, 72. 
Fort Du Quesne, 33. 
Fort Fisher, Capture of, 75. 
Fort Henry, Surrender of, 72. 
France, 42, 47, 48. 
Franklin, Benjamin, 39, 41, 42, 44, 

45- 
Fredericksburg, Battle of, 73. 
" Freeman's Oath," 23. 
Free-Soil Party, The, 62. 
Fremont, John C, 67. 
French and Indian War, 33. 
French Revolution, The Effects of, 

46. , 
French m Nova Scotia, 14. 
Frobisher, Sir Martin, 13. 
Fugitive Slave Law, The, 64. 
Fulton, Robert, 50. 

Gadsden Purchase, The, 65. 
Gage, General, 37, 38. 



Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, 55. 

Gaspee, The, 36 

Gaudalupe Hidalgo, Treaty of, 62. 

CJenoa, Native Place of Columbus, 7 

George IL, 32. 

Georgia, 32, 69, 75. 

German town, Rattle of, 42. 

Gerry, Elbridge, 48, 50. 

Gettysburg, Battle of, 74. 

Ghent, Treaty of, 51. 

Gilbert, Sir Humphrey, 13. 

Gillmore, General, 75. 

Goffe, William, 25, 26. 

Gold Fever, The California, 62. 

Gosnold, Bartholomew, 14, 16. 

Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, 19. 

Gourgues, Dominique de, 13. 

Graham, William R., 65. 

Granada, New, 11, 

Grand Model, The, 26. 

Grant, Gen. U. S., 72, 74, 75, 77, 

78, 79- 
Greene, General, 39. 
Greenland, Discovery of, 7. 
Grenvllle, Sir Richard, 13. 
Guerriere, Capture of the, 51. 
Gunpowder Plot, The, 15. 

Hadley, 26. 

Hale, John P., 63. 

Hamilton, Alexander, 45, 46. 

Hamlin, Hannibal, 69, 70. 

Hampton, General, 51. 

Hancock, John., 39. 47, 49. 

Hard Cider Campaign, The, 58. 

Harper's Ferry, 68, 73. 

Harrison, Gen. Wm. Henry, 58, 59. 

Hartford, Ct., 2i._ 

Hartford Convention, The, 51. 

Harvard College, 22. 

Harvard, Rev. John, 23. 

Hastings, Battle of, 7. 

Hayne, Webster's Reply to, 55. 

Hayti, 8. 

Henry VII. of England, 8. 

Henry IV. of France, 15. 

Henry, Patrick, 34, 37. 

Hispaniola, 8. 

Holland, The Pilgrims in, 17. 

Hooker, General, 74. 

Hooker, Rev. Thomas, 22. 

Howe, Lord, 42. 

Hudson's Bay, 13. 



90 



INDEX. 



Hudson, Henry, 17. 
Hudson, The River, 19, 50. 
Hue:uenotr„ The, 12. 
Hull, General, 51. 
Hutchinson, Governor, 36, 37. 

Iceland, 6. 

Idaho, 81. 

Illinois 53- 

Impeachment of Pres. Johnson, 78. 

Independence, The Declaration of, 

41. 
Indiana, ?2. 
Indian Territory, 81. 
Indian Wars, 15, 22, 28, 29, 30, 31, 

33, 56- 
Iowa, 60. 

Isabella, Queen, 7. 
Isles of Shoals, The, 19. 

Jackson, General Andrew, 52, 55. 

James River, The, 16, 73. 

Jamestown, 16, r?, 19. 

Japan, Treaty with, 66. 

Jay, John, 46. 

Jefferson, Thomas, 41, 46, 47, 48, 54* 

Johnson, Andrew, 70, 76-78. 

Johnson, Richard M., 57. 

Johnston, General, 72, 76. 

Jones, Paul, 42. 

Julian, George W., 65. 

Kansas, 66, 70. 

Kansas-Nebraska Bill, The, 66. 

Kennebec, The, 16. 

Kentuckv, 47. 

King Philip's War, 28. 

King, William R., 65. 

King William's War, 29, 33. 

Know-nothingism, 66. 

Knox, John, 13. 

Kosciusco, 42. 

Kossuth in the United States, 65, 

Labrador, i, 8, 9, 13. 

Laconia, 20. 

Lafayette, 42. 

La Salle, 27, 30- 

La^Yrence, Kansas, Destroyed by 

Guerillas, 74. 
Law, John, 31. 

Lecompton Constitution, The, 68. 
Lee, General Charles, 40. 



Lee, Richard Henry, 41. 

Lee, Gen. Robert E., 73, 74, 75. 

Leisler, Jacob, 29. 

Leon, Ponce de, 9. 

Lewis and Clark Expedition, The, 

49. 
Leyden, t6. 

Lexington. Battle of, 38. 
Lima, II. 

Lincoln, Abraham, 69-76. 
Livingston, Robert R., 41. 
London Company, The, 16. 
Lopez, General, and Cuba, 64, 65. 
Locke, John. 26. 
Loulsburg, Capture of, 33. 
Louisiana, 30, 34, 48, 50, 69. 
Louisville, 27. 

Madison, James, 45, 46, 50-52. 

Madison, Rev. Dr. James, 43. 

Magellan, 10. 

Maine, 16, 20, 25, 53. 

Manhattan Island, 18. 

March to the Sea, Gen. Sherman's, 

Marion, General, 42. 
Marquette, Jacques, 27. 
Martha's Vineyard, 15. 
Marshall, John, 48. 
Maryland, 21, 73. 
Mason and Slidell, Seizure of, 72. 
Mason, John, 19, 20. 
Massachusetts, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 

21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 33, 34) 3S» 

36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 45, 55, 71- 
Massachusetts Bay, Settlement of, 

20. 
Mayflower, The, 19. 
McClellan, General, 71, 72, 73. 
McDowell, General, 72. 
Meade, General, 74. 
Melendez, 12, 13. 
Merrimac and Monitor, The, 72. 
Methodists, The, 31, 43- 
Mexican War, The, 60, 61, 62. 
Mexico, 10. 
Michigan, 56, 57. 
Minnesota, 68. 
Mississippi Bubble, The, 31- 
Mississippi, The River, 12, 27, 

36. 
Mississippi, 52, 69. 
Missouri, 53, 66. 



INDEX. 



91 



Missouri Compromise, The, 53, 66. 
Mobile, 30. 

Molino del Rey, Battle of. 61. 
Monitor and Merrimac, The, 72. 
Monmouth, Battle of, 42. 
Monroe Doctrine, The, 53. 
Monroe, James, 52-54' 
Montana, 81 
Monterey, Battle of, 61. 
Montcalm, General, 34. 
Montgomen', Ala., Confederate 

Convention at, 70. 
Montgomery, Gen., 40. 
Montreal, 40. 
Mormons, The, 62. 
Morse, Prof S- F. B., 60. 
Mound Builders, the, 5- 
Murfreesbf)ro', Battle of, 73. 

Nahant, 14. 

Natchez, 31. 

Narragansett Bay, 22. 

National debt, Reduction of, 79. 

Nauvoo, 111., Mormons at, 62. 

Nebraska, 66, 77. 

Nevada, 75. 

New Amsterdam, 18, 24. 

Newbern, Capture of, 72. 

New England, 7, 18, 23. 

Newfoundland, 13. 

New Granada, 11. 

New Hampshire, 20, 23, 33, 39. 

New Haven, 22, 26. 

New Jersey, 18, 26, 42. 

New Mexico, 62, 63, 81. 

New Netherlands, 18. 

New Orleans, Z\,S2, TZ' 

Newport, 10. 

Newport, Christopher, 16, 17. 

Newton, 24. 

Newtown, 20, 25. 

New York, 10, 17, 18, 25, 42, 43> 

46, 48. 
New York Weekly Journal, The, 

32. 
Nina, The, 8. 

North American Indians, The, 5. 
Northmen, The, 7. 
Norwegians, The, 6, 7. 
Nova Scotia, 14. 
Nullification, 55. 

Ogi-ethorpe, General, 32. 



Ohio, 33, 48. 

Old South Church, Boston, The, 

36. 
Oregon, 68. 

Oregon Treaty, The, 60. 
Ossawattornie, 66. 

Pacific Ocean, Discovery of, 10. 

Pacific Railroad, The, 66. 

Palo Alto, Battle of, 61. 

Palos, 8. 

Panama, ti. 

Penn, William, 28. 

Pennsylvania, 28, 61. 

Penobscot, 18. 

Pepperell, William, 33. 

Perry. Commodore Matthew C, 

66. 
Perry, Commodore O. H., 51. 
Peru, Conquest of, 10. 
Petersburg, 75. 
Pequod Indians, 22. 
Philadelphia, 28, 37, 39. 
Phippsburg, 16. 
Pierce, Franklin, 65-67. 
Pilgrims, The, 16, 17, 19, 20. 
Pincknev, C. C-, 45> 48- 
Pinta, The, 8. 

Pirates, Wars against the, 49, 52. 
Pitcaim, Major, 38. 
Pittsburg, 33. 

Pittsburg Landing, Battle of, 73. 
Pizarro, Francisco, 11. 
Plymouth Company, The, 16, 
Plymouth, Mass., 17, 19, 23. 
Pocahontas, 18. 
Polk, James K., President, 59- 

63. 

Ponce de Leon, 9. 

Popular Sovereignty, 66. 

Port Bill, The Boston, 37. 

Port Hudson, Surrender of, 74. 

Porto Rico, 9. 

Powhatan, 18. 

Presbyterians, The, 30. 

Presidents, List of, 82. 

Preston, Captain, 36. 

Priestley, Dr. Joseph, 47. 

Princeton, Battle of, 42. 

Princeton College, 37- 

Printing-press, First in the Colo- 
nies, 23. 

Providence, R.I., 22. 



92 



INDEX. 



Provost, Rev. Dr. Samuel, 44. 
Pulaski, 42. 
Puritans, The, 20. 
Putnam, General, 39, 40. 

Quakers, The, 25. 
Quantrell, 74. 
Queen Anne's War, 30. 
Quiucy, 54. 

Railroad, First, in the United 

States, 54. 
Raleigh, Sir Walter, 13. 
Rapelje, Sarah, iS. 
Rapidan, Gen. Grant Crosses the, 73 
Reconstruction, 79. 
Red River, 30. 
Regicides, The, 25. 
Republican Party, Germ of the, 63. 
Revere, Paul, 38. 
Reykjavik, Founding of, 6. 
Rhett, of South Carolina, 57. 
Rhode Island, 22, 29, 39. 
Richmond, Battles before, 73. 
Richmond, Capture of, 75. 
Rio Grande, Fighting upon the, 

6r. 
Roanoke Island, 13, 14, 72. 
Robinson, John, 17. 
Rolfe, John, r8. 
Roman Catholic Church, The, 21, 

44. 
Roxbury, 20. 

Sable Island, 14. 

Saguenay, The River, 15. 

Salem, 22, 37. 

Salem Witchcraft, The, 29. 

San Domingo, 79. 

San Jacinto, The, 72. 

Santa Maria, The, 8. 

San Salvador, 8. 

Saratoga, Battle of, 42. 

Savannah, 32, 75. 

Say-and-Seal, Lord, 21. 

Saybrooke, 21. 

Sayle, William, 27. 

Schuyler, General, 40. 

Scott, General, 57, 6r, 65, 72. 

Seabury, Rev. Dr., 44. 

Secession of the Southern States, 

69. 
Seminole War, 56. 



Seward, Secretary. 70, 76. 

Shaftesbury, The Earl of, 26. 

Shenandoah Valley, 75. 

Sheridan, General, 75, 77. 

Sherman, General, 75, 76. 

Sherman, Roger, 41, 45, 47. 

Shiloh, Battle of, 73. 

Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, 
Attack on, in the Streets of Balti- 
more, 71. 

Slaves, The first, 19. _ 

Slidell and Mason, Seizure of, 72. 

Slaughter, Henry, 29. 

Smith, Captain John, 16, 18. _ 

Southern Confederacy, Organization 
of, 70. 

South Na'ick, 24. 

Spanish American Republic, Rec- 
ognition of, 54. 

Speedwell, The, 19. 

Spencer, General, 39. 

Stamp Act, The, 34. 

Standish, Miles, 19. 

Stanton, Secretary, 72, 77, 78. 

Stark, General, 39. 

States, List of, 87. 

St. Augustine, 9, 12. 

Steamboat, The first, 50. 

Steuben, 42. 

Stephens, Alexander H., 70. ■, 

St. Lawrence, The, 12, 15. 

St. Mary's, Settlement of, 21. 

Stone River, Battle of, 73. 

Stony Point, Batde of, 42. 

Stowe, Mrs. H. B., 64. 

Stuyvesant, Governor, 24. 

Suffrage in the District of Columbia, 
77- 

Sumner, Charles, 63, 67. 

Sumter, Fort, 71. 

Sumter, General, 42. 

Swanzey, 2S. 

Synod of Cambridge, 25. 

Synod of Newtown, 25. 

Tallmage, of New York, Speech 

by, S3. 
Tampa Bay, 12. 
Tanev, Chief Justice, 68. 
Tariff, The, 54. 
Taylor, General, 61, 63, 64. 
Tea, Spilling of the, 36. 
Tea, The Tax on, 35. 



INDEX. 



93 



Telegraph, The first, 59- 
Tenure-of- office bill, 78. 
Tennessee, 47. 
Territories, List of, 81. 
Texas, 60, 69. 

Thomas, Gen. Lorenzo, 78. 
Ticonderoga, Fort, 34) 39- 
Tompkins, Daniel D , 52-54. 
Trent, The, 72. 
Trenton. Battle of, 42. 
Tyler, John, 5S-60. 

Uncle Tom's Cabin, 64. 
Unitarian Controversy, 47- , , 
United Colonies of New England, 

The, 23. 
United States Bank, The, 46. 
Utah, 62, 63, 81. 

Valley Forge, Camp at, 42. 
Van Buren, Martin, 55, 57, 58, 62. 
Vera Cruz, Battle of, 61. 
Verazzani, 10. 
Vermont, 42, 47. 
Vespucci, Amerigo, 8. 
Vicksburg, Surrender of, 74. 
Virginia, 13, 16, 23, 34. 

War of 1812, The, 50. 

Ward, General, 39, 40. 

Warren, General, 40. 

Wars with the Indians, 15, 22, 27, 

29, 3o» 3i» 33, 56- 
Warwick, Earl of, 21. 



Washington, City of, 48, 51. 
Washington, George, 32, 33, 37, 39> 

40, 42, 44. 45. 46, 47, 48. 
Washington, Territory of, 81. 
Watertown, 20. 

Webster, Daniel, 55, 59, 63, 65. 
Wesleys, The, 31, 32, 43- 
West India Company, The Dutch, 

24- . . 

West Virgmia, 74. 
Wethersfiekl, 21. 
WhaUey, Edward, 25. 
Whigs, The, 58, 65. 
White, Goveinx)r John, 14. 
White, Rev. Dr. Wm., 43. 
Whitefield, 32. 
Wilkes, Captain, 72. 
William and Mary College, 29. 
Wilmot Proviso, I'he, 61. 
Wilkinson, General, 51. 
Williams, Roger, 22. 
Wilson, Henry, 78. 
Windsor, Ct., 21. 
Winthrop, John, 20. 
Wisconsin, 62. 
Witherspoon, Rev. Dr., 37. 
Wolfe, General, 34. 
Wyoming, 81. 

YORKTOWN, 43- 

Young, Brigham, 62. 
Zenger, John Peter, 32, 



Cambridge : Press of John Wilson & Son. 












m 






-iU' -^ -kT J- 



^r-^v 






>."»f^,. 



